"Oh oh! Fluttershy! Over here!" Pinkie Pie called from across the room waving two enthusiastic, paint splotched hooves in the air.

The pink pony had situated herself back at the snack table that was now set up as an arts and crafts station. A disposable clear plastic sheet covered the top of the table to catch any spills or messes that would inevitably occur. A painting station was set up with a rainbow of hoof paint pots and a big stack of construction paper. Pinkie Pie wore a clear plastic apron that was already covered in paint smears.

Projects from earlier in the day laid scattered across the table, mostly consisting of sloppy hoof paintings depicting a wide range of colorful scenes like smiling flower fields and abstract streaks of colors. If Fluttershy didn’t know any better, the quick and carefree style of all the art almost looked like that of a toddler’s. It looked like the other party guests, not to mention Pinkie Pie, was really getting into the proper artistic mindset.

“Come paint with me!” the pink pony bounced, “c’mon, it’ll be fun!”

“You’re here painting alone?”

“Applejack was over here a little bit ago, but she had to leave early,” Pinkie explained, “something about a farm emergency.”

“Emergency?” Fluttershy repeated, but was quick to notice Macintosh was still here, only just now returning from the dumpster outside with a face filled to the brim with blush. Surely if it was an emergency at the farm they would both be needed, right? “I hope she didn’t leave because of me...”

“Because of you?” Pinkie replied, “Fluttershy, Applejack was super duper ECSTATIC that you were into this stuff! She just has a tough time showing it.”

“I guess it runs in the family,” Fluttershy replied.

“Sometimes life just gets in the way,” Pinkie added, “now come on! I have a spot saved for you right next to me and I got ALL the paint colors!”

True to Pinkie’s word, Fluttershy had a spot to call her own among the paint pots and loose sheets of paper. She wrapped herself in her own plastic apron and nestled in comfortably next to Pinkie.

Now painting was something that came to Fluttershy a little easier than playing with foal toys. While she felt silly trying to play games of pretend with bulky wooden trains, painting was something she enjoyed on her own time. In fact, she had an easel and a set of artisan paint brushes back at home. The large pots of colorful hoof paints that laid out before her were a far cry from her set up at home, but they were enough to spark her creative drive. Pinkie’s company also helped in that regard, allowing Fluttershy to relax better into the role.

Fluttershy liked drawing animals and nature scenes. She tried her best to capture the cutest animal friends she had waiting back home as best as she could with the hoof paint medium. She especially liked drawing rainbow colored bunnies that frolicked among splotchy fields of grass. Most of her drawings turned out a little simplistic, but the freedom to paint whatever she wanted helped her capture a childlike enthusiasm she had for the task.

Pinkie meanwhile didn’t seem to wait for any sort of ideas or inspiration to strike her. She instead just enjoyed painting and creating art with her friend. Some were quick, monochromatic smears of paint that slashed the colorful construction paper into mismatching halves. Others appeared to be an attempt at fitting as many colors as she could onto one picture. The excitable pony would bounce in her seat, giggling up a storm as she played with the hoof paints more than she actually painted with them.

By the time Mrs. Cake came in to check on the pair, the two diapered ponies had conjured up dozens of cute paintings in a creative flurry. Smears of hoof paint tangled in their manes as splatters of the rainbow of pigments streaked across their aprons and hooves. Not to mention leaving the crafts table in a rather chaotic state.

"Oh look at this mess!" Mrs. Cake chuckled. “You girls have been busy.”

“Lookit what we made!” Pinkie exclaimed, holding up her latest piece of work: a series of blue circles with speckles of yellow on them.

“That looks wonderful, Pinkie!” Mrs. Cake applauded, “and Fluttershy, I see you made some as well. Wonderful job!”

There was a flutter of excitement in Fluttershy’s chest when Mrs. Cake praised their hard work. She looked over her collection of splatters and oblong shapes with a new perspective. A youthful, self-satisfied perspective. For a second or two she felt genuine pride for all her hard work. She just couldn't quite describe the warm and cozy glow she felt from the congratulatory coos. It felt...good.

"Well I think it's bath time for the little ponies," Mrs. Cake then said, “come on, you two.”

With Mrs. Cake's help; Fluttershy changed out of her plastic apron. She couldn't help but notice the mother mare's hoof tapping the underside of her diaper in a less than inconspicuous diaper check. She had to blush for a second as the crinkly fabric momentarily brushed against her crotch, rubbing a cold spot of the diaper against her vulnerable sex. Meanwhile Pinkie effortlessly slipped out of her paint covered outfit, stripping down to just her diaper once again. Fluttershy was quick to notice that Pinkie's diaper was already soaked, stained a light yellow from front to back. That pony had one overactive bladder!

Crinkling their way up to the second floor, the two diapered ponies left the bustling party and joined Mrs. Cake upstairs. It was noticeably quiet up here, now that the three were a fair distance away from the party area. There was a stillness in the air, a far cry from the noisy chatter and commotion coming from downstairs. A central hallway connected a handful of rooms, most of which had their doors closed for the party. The only door that was open, and clearly marked with a florally decorated sign, was the bathroom.

This solemnly used room was lovingly decorated with a womanly touch. A night light with a small colored bulb cloaked the room in a soft lilac light. The overhead lights weren't that overpowering either once they were flipped on and lit up the room with soft dispersed lighting. The room’s color scheme never went with any bright or vibrant colors and instead focused on soft, soothing shades of blues and pinks. It was a room of calm and relaxation. The kind of place one could spend an entire afternoon just soaking in a warm bath with a good book. It resembled a spa more than a bathroom.

Against the farthest wall, past the clean white counter and the child locked toilet was a large tub. This smooth sloped porcelain furnishing was big enough to bathe two ponies at once and probably a common spot for romantic evenings between the Cakes, if Fluttershy had to guess. Probably a lovely place to light some candles and bathe in a sudsy bath mixed with rose petals.

A small plastic basket sat on the floor beside the bath, equipped with a handful of bath toys and scented bubble bath mix. The brightly colored rubber floaties came in adorable and friendly shapes of smooth shaped animals like ducks and elephants and fish. Such a toy collection might have fooled an outside observer into thinking Mr. and Mrs. Cake had children, but Fluttershy knew better than that.

A warm bath was drawn, complete with mint scented bubble bath that filled the room with a soothing scent that steamed away the stress of the day. Mrs. Cake expertly tested the water as it poured into the basin, ensuring that it was just the right temperature before guiding her charges in.

"Alright girls, diapers off and into the tub," Mrs. Cake told the paint covered ponies.

Fluttershy was first, with Mrs. Cake already reaching underneath the yellow pegasus before she had time to react. Her nearly bone dry diaper was quickly undone and slipped off her backside with a faint but audible puff. She felt a little silly letting the diaper go to waste, but surely Mrs. Cake, with her creative and playful mind, had plans for such under used diapers. She was then guided by the hoof into the bath where she found herself slowly immersed in the tepid bath water.

Once Fluttershy was immersed in the soothing, tepid bath water, Mrs. Cake turned her attention to Pinkie, who was not quite as graceful in her pre-bath routine. Before the motherly mare could react, Pinkie leapt into the bath as a pink blur, splashing the other ponies as she dunked her lower half into the sudsy water.

"Oh Pinkie Pie!" Mrs. Cake dotted with a chuckle, shielding herself from a splash of water, “diapers are supposed to come off BEFORE you hop into the bath, you silly girl!”

The motherly mare helped Pinkie climb out of the tub as the pink pony giggled up a storm. She knew exactly what she was doing! She emerged from the bubble topped water bowlegged with the bottom half of her fur already matted and wet. In that brief dunk into the bath water, her diaper swelled up beyond full, coming dangerously close to bursting. The front tapes struggled to keep the whole thing together, weighing down on her waist heavily.

With her diaper dripping a large puddle at her feet, Pinkie tried her best to stand still as Mrs. Cake reached under her huge, saggy diaper. She was giggling so much that she started to wiggle and squirm. Undoing the straining tapes allowed the whole overly inflated diaper to drop to the tiled floor with a heavy and wet plop. For now, the water soaked thing was left where it laid.

"There now let's try this again," Mrs. Cake said, "no more splashing, okay?"

Being on her absolutely, super special BEST behavior this time, Pinkie slipped back into the bathtub with nary a wayward splash out of the tub. With a smile, Mrs. Cake rewarded the pair by adding a number of bath toys into the water, giving the girls something to play with while she scrubbed them clean.

As time went and as Mrs. Cake slowly cleaned the two girls inch by inch, Fluttershy started to play with the toys that floated around her. At first she would simply poke at any plastic boat or squeaky duck that floated by. She would then snatched a floaty or two and pull them under water, giggling to herself as they floated back up to the surface with a little pop. Eventually she found herself playing out little stories in her head about a group of squeaky turtle toys who needed to find a boat to sail across the big frothy seas to return home. Playing these games of pretend were starting to come naturally to her and she found comfort in that.

When the toys were starting to lose their appeal, Fluttershy’s eyes wandered over to Pinkie’s diaper that remained splayed out on the tiled floor a few feet away from them. It was funny to Fluttershy to see Pinkie’s near bursting diaper dwarf her own as the two garments sat side by side. She found a certain kind of fascination with how full those diapers were designed to grow and how much one could hold given the circumstances. Other than the initial accident she had at the beginning of the day, she realized that she hadn’t really internalized the fact that those crinkly things were meant to be used. It was obvious that she’d have to eventually, but to...actually do it? The thought made her cheeks blush.

Before she knew it, bath time was over and Mrs. Cake had two fresh and fluffy towels waiting for the two girls. There was hardly a cold moment between the scented bath waters and the soft wrapping of the light blue towels. As the water drained, Mrs. Cake dried the two ponies off efficiently and quickly.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, followed by a meek yellow stallion poking his head through the crack in the doorway. “Uhm...mommy?”

"Yes, Carrot, what is it?"

"I-I was just wondering where you were," the stallion replied as he entered the room, bashfully doing his best to avoid looking at the towel wrapped ponies for politeness sake, "you disappeared from downstairs and...I..."

"A sweet boy, but so needy sometimes," Mrs. Cake chuckled to the girls before turning back to Carrot, "well you're just in time, sweet roll. These two were just about to get diapered up after their bath." She continued to fluff the pair’s freshly washed fur, wrapping them up in a bundle of nice warm towels. "I’ll be keeping an eye on Fluttershy tonight, but I believe Pinkie here owes you some playtime?"

"I-I w-would like that very much," Carrot stammered back, his hind legs already shivering.

"Then be a good boy and help me guide these two back to the bedroom so we can get them dressed."

With Carrot’s eager and almost childlike enthusiasm, Pinkie and Fluttershy were guided out of the warmth of the steamy bathroom and made their way towards the master bedroom that waited at the end of the hall.

Pinkie and Carrot walked ahead of the other two with a giddy gait in their step. They nudged and teased each other like a pair of teenagers as their excitement for what was to come started to become palatable. Mrs. Cake was a calm force beside Fluttershy, radiating the confidence of a well experienced caretaker. While Carrot gave off the uncertainty and excitability of an inexperienced teenager, the motherly mare never faltered from her reliable and trusting maternal impression. Fluttershy felt safe around the older mare. Finding her company less of a friendly one and more of a motherly one.

Author's Note

Do any of you read books while taking baths? I'm more of a shower kind of guy so it's never really crossed my mind, but like I've seen people light candles and have trays that hold their paperwork that hang over the tub sometimes, but I've never seen a need for any of that. Maybe I just need to take more bubble baths.