The 'Glow' of Friendship

Chapters

Cozy's Confession
Back in Diapers
Mommy Starlight?
What To Do?
Mr. and Mrs. Glow
Six Very Special Babysitters
Return To Normal

Cozy's Confession

Cozy Glow paced around in her room and stared hard at the letters she'd been getting from her pen pal. All she could do was think, was this really the right idea? She was worried about what could happen to her if she got found out by one of the princesses: They were smart, they’d obviously figure out something was wrong with her. And she really didn’t want to spend the rest of her life in Tartarus, it'd be super boring and terrifying. Her mind was made up in that instant, she knew what she had to do!

So a short time later, Cozy steadied herself as she stood outside the door to Starlight’s office. She’d only come by once before, to clear the Cutie Mark Crusaders when her attempts to get them admitted into the School of Friendship had backfired.

This was definitely going to be harder than that. For tucked out of sight in a small saddle bag, was something that would be incriminating to the filly if it got out. Something she’d gone to great lengths to hide.

But hiding it no longer seemed like a good option to her. It had given the filly many sleepless nights. She couldn’t take it any longer, she had to tell somepony. And in this case that somepony was the one pony she could trust not to rat her out, Counselor Starlight.

The filly fluttered up and rapped a hoof against the door, knocking three times. “Come in.” Starlight’s voice called in its innocent, unaware tone. Cozy obeyed even as she was deathly afraid of someone else entering right behind her. Never was she more relieved when she’d closed the door shut behind her.

Starlight blinked a little bit. “Cozy Glow? This is a surprise.” By all accounts, Cozy had been a model student since her admittance. Hardly anyone had ever complained and even then it was usually just a comment of how she was “too friendly”.

Cozy’s medium scarlet colored eyes darted all about. She seemed to be scanning the counselor’s office for any signs of traps or any sort of monitoring devices. To the pinkish gray coated pegasus’ relief there were none. “Counselor Starlight, I did a very bad thing.” She immediately confessed.

Starlight took a sip of empathy coco from her mug, nodding ever so slowly. “I’m listening.”

Cozy looked all around once more, before she further ellaborated. “I’ve been working for a very bad guy. A guy who wants to take over Equestria.”

“Cozy, what are you talking about? You haven’t done anything yet.” Starlight commented in surprise. A part of her suspected this might be some kind of prank, but Cozy didn’t strike her as the sort to do that. But maybe something else was up? Maybe Cozy had been secretly replaced by Chrysalis (the former queen was still at large.)?

But the filly just dug into her saddle bag and pulled out a letter. “This is from Tirek. We’ve been penpals for months now,” She shamefully explained. “I thought maybe he was just misunderstood. That what he needed was a friend, somepony who’d be willing to talk to him and listen.”

Starlight picked up the letter, reading it over. When she’d finished she nearly lost her magical grip on it from the shock of what was written! The letter read as follows:

Dear Cozy Glow,

I’m very grateful to have taken you on as my protege, not many ponies would even give me a second thought. They’d write me off as a traitor and that would be the end of it. But you clearly know better.

I only regret that since I remain imprisoned in Tartarus we haven’t met face to face.

The time draws near for you to put what I’ve taught you into practice. You must ensure that Princess Twilight and her friends remain unaware, they can’t know what we’re up to or everything will all be for naught.

If you follow my instructions however, Equestria will be at our mercy. You’ll be the Empress of Friendship, and I’ll have the power to ensure nopony ever gives you a hard time ever again. Provided you don’t plan to double cross me. If there’s one thing I can’t tolerate, it’s back stabbing traitors like Scorpan and Discord.

Don’t be like them. Remember who it is you owe everything to.

Sincerely,

Your friend and master,
Lord Tirek

“Cozy… is this true?!” Starlight gasped in surprise as she eyed the filly. Cozy shamefully nodded. “What were you thinking?! How could you go along with… whatever it is that Tirek had planned?!”

Cozy started to sob and sniffle. “I just wanted to make some friends. It seemed like nothing I did ever worked though. Nopony ever wanted to be my friend. And to ponies, friendship comes naturally. If I can’t make friends, what kind of pony am I?”

But Starlight immediately trotted over and pulled Cozy close. “Cozy, don’t you ever think that way! That’s exactly the kind of thinking that leads you down dark paths, like conspiring with known criminals.”

Cozy sniffled more, burying her head into Starlight’s chest. “Golly, that’s easy for you to say, Counselor Starlight. I bet you’ve never had any trouble making friends or being nice.”

But the unicorn shook her head. “Cozy, I’ve been down a path similar to yours. I’ve been in the same situation you say you’re in. Except I blamed cutie marks for my problems, I tried to impose my vision of a cutie markless society onto others. And you wanna know what I learned?”

“What?” Cozy questioned, unable to bring herself to look up at Starlight.

Starlight paused to collect her thoughts. Even now her past misdeeds still stung when she thought of them. “I learned that taking out my anger on others wouldn’t make me feel better. Revenge wouldn’t solve my problems or bring back the friend I thought I’d lost. All it did was make me a monster. A monster willing to hurt others and doom all of Equestria just to get what she wanted,” She paused again, this time in contemplation. “You know, when you told me what you did with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it kind of reminded me of my old self. Though I don’t know if my old self would’ve ever stuck her neck out for anypony else.”

Cozy slowly ceased her crying. “I… I’m sorry, Counselor Starlight. I really am. I’ll just pack my things and leave. I’m surely going to be expelled for this.

Starlight shook her head. “That’s not for me to decide, Cozy. That’s Twilight’s department. But I can imagine she won’t be pleased to hear about this.”

To say that Twilight wasn’t pleased to find out about Cozy’s secret would be an understatement. Not since she believed the CMC had sabotaged Cozy had she been this furious. And this time her anger wasn’t misdirected. “Cozy! What in the name of Starswirl’s beard made you think communicating with Tirek was ever a good idea?!”

“I just wanted to be able to make friends, to understand friendship. I thought if I could reach out to Triek of all creatures, everypony would want to be my friend,” Cozy explained. “It worked for you and your friends with Discord, and Counselor Starlight, and Fizz… er Miss. Tempest.”

Twilight sighed, putting a hoof to her forehead. “That was different, Cozy. In Discord’s case we were recruited by Princess Celestia to do it. And in the other cases it was when I sensed that fighting wasn’t the answer,” She struggled not to groan. “The whole point of this school was to help ponies and other creatures understand friendship. If you were having problems you should've come to me.”

“Or me,” Starlight interjected. “Or even the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Twilight made them official friendship tutors for a reason you know.”

“I just wanted to prove I could do it on my own, that I didn’t need somepony else to tell me how to make friends,” Cozy sighed and then frowned. “I’m going to be expelled for this, aren’t I?”

Twilight hesitated. “I… don’t know, Cozy. I’ll need time to think about that. For now though, I need to talk with the other princesses. Thanks to you we now know that Tirek is planning something, which means we need to be ready for him.”

“I guess that means I’m taking over as headmare of the school, again.” Starlight sighed as she sensed where Twilight’s conversation was going.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got Spike ready to cover your counselor duties,” Twilight reassured Starlight. “Just make sure to keep an eye on Cozy. And for now, it’s best if no other students know about this. No reason to cause a panic.”

Cozy blinked as she hesitantly answered. “So I’m not in trouble?”

Twilight’s response was vague and ominous. “We’ll see.” And it made Cozy gulp.

The rest of the day passed slowly for Cozy. Even though Twilight and Starlight agreed not to tell the other students about her secret, their friends nevertheless found out. And for Cozy it was really hard not to notice the looks her professors were giving her.

She couldn’t blame them. The pegasus had just revealed that she’d secretly been in cahoots with one of their sworn enemies. Who in their right mind wouldn’t be suspicious of that?

Night time was no better for the filly. It was hard for her to get to sleep. And when she finally did she tossed and turned, plagued by horrible nightmares.

One of them was so frightening and so horrid that caused the pegasus to wake with a start! Her natural pegasus instincts even made her shoot up from the bed and cling to the ceiling. When she came back down, something felt off. It felt like her bed sheets were wet.

Horrified and fearing the worst, Cozy pulled back the sheets! Her medium scarlet eyes quickly saw an unmistakable damp spot that could be seen even in the dark!

“How has this happened?! Why has this happened?!” The filly thought to herself. “I never wet the bed! Not even once! And I know I didn’t drink any liquids or forget to use the bathroom!” Yet there was the unmistakable proof of her shameful deed. Right there for everypony to notice.

And all she could do in that moment was cry.

Back in Diapers

Fortunately for Cozy all of the students’ living quarters came with a bathroom. So it was that the filly, fighting back sniffles over her deed, trotted into the bathroom to get cleaned up. She wasn’t sure what she was gonna do about her wet sheets though. She couldn’t do her own laundry so she’d have to either get new sheets or ask one of her professors. Neither one sounded particularly pleasant.

And there was the possibility that she might wet the bed again. The filly didn’t know what had caused this accident, and until she did there was always the possibility it might happen a second time, or a third. That meant one of two things: Rubber sheets, or diapers.

While Cozy was cleaning herself up in the bathroom she thought about her options. Quickly she dismissed the idea of rubber sheets. “I hated having them when I lived with my parents. I was glad they took them off once I proved I wasn’t gonna wet the bed,” She thought to herself and sighed. “So I guess it’s back to diapers. I haven’t worn them since I was three.”

But even obtaining diapers would be tricky. Cozy knew that her parents had thrown out all of her diapers as soon as she’d stopped needing them. Heck, she’d skipped right over the pull-ups stage as her parents had seen no need for it. And as far as the pegasus knew none of her fellow students were bedwetters.

There was one student who might have access to them though, Sandbar. “He has a little sister who still wears diapers. Maybe I could ‘borrow’ some from her?” She briefly thought, before shaking her head. Borrowing without asking is just what her old self would’ve done. Besides, foal diapers wouldn’t fit a growing filly like her. Especially since she just needed them at night time.

The little pegasus sighed as she exited the bathroom, trying to find as much dry sheets as possible to lay on. She’d have to go shopping tomorrow. Come to think of it, she didn’t have any money. How was she gonna pay for diapers, especially night time brands? That got her to thinking. She’d already confessed to Counselor Starlight about her letters from Tirek, maybe she could also trust the mare enough with this secret?

Well, first thing tomorrow Cozy was going to find out. But for now she just focused on going back to sleep, hoping that she would have no more accidents until morning.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Canterlot, Twilight was in the midst of a discussion with her fellow alicorn princesses. Even Cadence had been called up from the Crystal Empire when the nature of Twilight’s arrival had been revealed.

So far the other princesses had said nothing. They all just stood at attention in the throne room as Twilight lay out all that she’d learned since Starlight had brought Cozy’s letters before the headmare. “Well, that’s the whole story. At least from what I can gather,” Twilight explained as she finished and took in a deep breath. “I never would’ve believed a filly so sweet and innocent could harbor such a dark secret. If she hadn’t had a change of heart and confessed, who knows what she might have done for Tirek?”

Luna was the first to speak up once Twilight had concluded. “This development is most troubling. I suspected something might be up when I could not access young Cozy’s dreams. Though even I would not have suspected she was in cahoots with a known criminal.”

Celestia put a hoof to her chin as she contemplated. “It seems Tirek may not be as powerless as we believed, despite his return to Tartarus just a few years ago.”

“Do you think he’s escaped?!” Twilight gasped as sudden horror struck her.

Celestia shook her head. “It’s not like Tirek to stay quiet. If he had escaped again he no doubt would’ve done something to make us aware of his presence. Just as he did the last time,” Then she added. “Even so, we should probably have somepony check up on him. Just to make sure.”

“I will go! I put Tirek there to begin with and I’ve been to Tartarus once before!” Twilight firmly insisted.

Cadence was quick to object. “Twilight, there’s no need to throw yourself onto the front lines every single time a threat comes up or at the first hint of trouble. For all we know, Tirek may want you to come to Tartarus.”

“Did Cozy’s letters offer any clues about Tirek’s plans?” Luna questioned Twilight.

Twilight responded with a quick shake of her head. “It seems he was careful enough not to give anything away. He must’ve feared the letters getting lost or intercepted, which was certainly a possibility if Derpy was the one delivering them. She’s usually reliable, but she does have a tendency to crash into something and drop letters or packages.”

“And it’s not like we can just write to Triek pretending to be Cozy Glow either. If we start asking for details he might get suspicious,” Luna pondered and turned to Cadence. “This seems like a job for the royal guard. Perhaps Shining Armor could suggest some candidates to volunteer?”

Cadence nodded her head. “He’s pretty good at picking out the best guards for the job. He should know who to send.”

“In the meantime,” Celestia ominously declared. “We should start to make preparations in case Tirek launches an attack. We don’t know what he might have planned, but this time we won’t be caught off guard!”

But Twilight nervously pointed out. “How am I going to justify increased security in Ponyville? Especially around my school?”

At that, the sun princess grinned as an idea came to her mind. “Well, there is one royal guard who’s still quite fond of you. If he were to be assigned to a unit in Ponyville that just happens to include your school, most ponies might not think much of it.”

“Wait! Do you mean…” Twilight began.

Celestia tried not to smirk. “Indeed I do. Though Shining Armor will hold the final say on the subject.”

The next morning dawned for a very uneasy Cozy Glow, who was relieved to find that she had not suffered another accident. The wet patch on the bed had faded a little but it was still visible if one looked closely.

Reluctantly she hopped down and made her way to the bathroom. It was always part of her morning ritual to use the toilet, so she thought nothing of the fact that her bladder seemed rather full. She just went about her business as usual, wiping, flushing and washing once she was done.

From there it was just a simple trot down the hall to Counselor Starlight’s office. A trot that seemed to take forever to the filly for whatever reason. Maybe it was because of her lingering concerns of the other students finding out about her secret. Maybe it was her lingering shame for her accident the night before. Or maybe it was what she was reluctantly going to confide in Starlight.

Eventually, however, the hallway ended and the door to Starlight’s office stood before the filly. She gulped, steadying her nerves to keep herself from shaking. Was she really going to do this? “It was only one accident. As long as you take extra precautions tonight you don’t have to tell anypony.” A part of her thought.

But another part of her was thinking. “You already told her about the letters from Tirek even when you thought she was going to expel you. And she didn’t. If you tell her about this she’ll understand. You’re probably not the first student to come to her with this kind of problem.”

So Cozy was able to bring herself to knock on the door to Starlight’s office. Just like yesterday her knock was soon answered by a friendly, welcoming call of “Come in.”

Starlight’s expression upon seeing Cozy indicated that she hadn’t been expecting to see the filly again so soon. If the slightly widened eyes were any indication this visit was even more unexpected than the last one. "Again? What other trouble had this filly gotten into?” Starlight thought, as Cozy was already in big trouble, she didn't really want her to go even deeper.
But Starlight was never one to turn away a pony in need. “Cozy Glow? What do you need my help with now?”

Cozy gulped and started to break out into a cold sweat. “It’s something really embarrassing. Something I never thought I’d have a problem with. Something I had to tell somepony about, because I can’t solve it on my own.”

"What, do you want to know where babies come from?” Starlight questioned. “I know how embarrassing and uncomfortable that can be. Come sit with me and I'll tell you everything you need to know.” She assumed that had to be what Cozy Glow wanted.

"Wait, what? No, no, no you misunderstand it's completely different,” Cozy Glow insisted. Besides I already know all that stuff, at least all the stuff my parents said I need to know. They’d said they’d tell me more when I’m older. This is something far worse."

“Well, that’s what I’m here for,” Starlight reassured the filly, motioning to the couch nearby. “Come on, have a seat and tell me all about it. Maybe you’d like some empathy coco?”

But the filly rejected the offer of the warm beverage, plopping down onto the couch and looking Starlight square in the eyes. This time there were no tears, no sobs. But her cheeks were flushing red. “I think I’m wetting the bed. So I need diapers to keep my sheets dry. But I don’t have any money to buy my own. So you can please help me buy some?”

Starlight simply smiled in a way not unlike a mother comforting her child. “Cozy, I already have diapers here in my office. Lots of students have bed wetting problems, so Twilight figured I should come prepared,” She explained as she rose from her desk. “We also sometimes use them as a relaxation tool,” Bending down, she opened a cabinet beneath her desk and took out an opened package of Silly Filly brand diapers. “Now, I know they’re probably a little big for you. But right now they’re all that we have,” Using her magic she floated over some foal powder, wipes, and rash cream. “And here are the changing supplies, just in case. That should be enough to last you for at least two weeks.”

"Don't be embarrassed about needing diapers” Starlight went on as she deposited the items into Cozy’s hooves. “I needed them a lot as a foal so it's quite alright." Starlight declared, she didn't mind telling the filly that little secret.

“Uh huh. What if I need more, though?” Cozy questioned. “I don’t know how long I’ll need diapers.”

Starlight patted Cozy gently on the forehead. “If you’re running low just come get me and we can go shopping for more. That goes for stuff besides diapers,” Then she asked the filly. “Speaking of which, do you need any help putting them on? I can show you how.”

Cozy nodded her head. “That would be appreciated. I never tried putting on diapers when I needed them, and that was a long time ago.”

“Okay,” The mare instructed. “Just lay down, and I’ll walk you through it step by step. Lucky for you, I have plenty of experience changing diapers from the many times I’ve foalsat.”

Mommy Starlight?

Cozy felt quite… little for lack of a better term as she lay down on the floor of Starlight’s office. She only vaguely remembered her diaper years, especially since her parents had pushed so hard to get her potty trained (and had ultimately prevailed). So to go through the entire process again for the first time in years was equal parts exciting and troubling for her. Exciting because she’d be able to remember what it felt like this time, troubling because she had no idea what to expect.

Starlight took a deep breath as she lit up her horn, surrounding one of the diapers with her magic. She always felt more comfortable using it instead of hooves (she didn’t even want to think of ponies using their mouths for the job). Carefully she unfolded the undergarment and floated it towards Cozy. “Okay, spread your legs for me. It’ll make it easier to put the diaper on.” She instructed.

Cozy obeyed, and her moderate scarlet eyes became fixated on the diaper as it was slowly slid underneath her. Starlight put it on her with practiced precision, even managing to thread Cozy’s tail through the hole in the back.

But before the filly could stand up, Starlight floated over the bottle of foal powder and used her magic to pull back the diaper and pour a small helping of powder in. “Just to make sure you don’t get a rash. Trust me, they hurt a lot.”

The soothing scents of cornstarch and lavender soon reached Cozy’s nostrils as she inhaled. It definitely felt better than the few memories she had of the talcum foal powder her parents had used (Cozy remembered that she wasn’t allowed to inhale it because the talcum was harmful to the lungs). A small cloud billowed out from the leg holes as she sat up.

Starlight blushed. “Oops! I guess I used a little too much,” And she apologized to Cozy in an instant. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve had to do this. Usually the students just ask for diapers and put them on themselves.”

“It’s okay, you did great,” Cozy commented as she looked down at the diaper, curiously giving it a poke with one of her hooves. “Golly, I forgot how comfy they are. They’re as soft as a pillow.”

“That’s why they’re such a good stress reliever,” Starlight told Cozy. “Of course you have to promise not to tell anyone about it. Many of the students who end up in diapers are very self-conscious about it. And I can’t name names.”

“What would you do if I did tell?” Cozy innocently inquired. Maybe the old her would’ve felt tempted to do so but the new her would never dream of it.

The unicorn gave a knowing wink. “I might have to spank you for being a naughty filly. And probably put you in the time out corner too.”

At that Cozy tensed up and swished her tail. “You wouldn’t really do that to me, would you Counselor Starlight? My parents would spank me all the time as a foal, even if I didn’t do anything particularly bad. Their style of parenting was tough love, with an emphasis on the tough part.”

Starlight immediately trotted toward the filly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I promise, unless you do something really dangerous I won’t ever spank you. Just make sure you don’t tell any of the other students about this.” Then she ushered the filly towards the door.

But as Cozy got near the door she hesitated. Even though it would just be a short dash down the hall to her bedroom, and it wouldn’t take much time to store the diapers out of sight, she didn’t want to leave.

A fact that did not go unnoticed by Starlight. “What’s the matter?” She innocently asked of her young charge.

The little pegasus fought back a gulp. “I can’t go out in a diaper. Somepony might see me. They’ll make fun of me for sure.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t if you told them the reason why you needed them,” Starlight reassured the filly. “And you could always come to me or Twilight for help. We’d make sure the teasing stopped.”

“Still, can’t you cast some kind of spell or something that will keep my diaper hidden? Or maybe you could put a dress on me?” Cozy questioned. She didn’t consider the fact that a dress might attract even more attention than a diaper.

The unicorn contemplated the proposal, putting a hoof to her chin. But she soon settled on a solution. “Actually, since Twilight isn’t back yet, why don’t I take you to her castle and take care of you for a bit? You know, as an actual foal? You must be pretty stressed out from yesterday.”

“But what about my classes?” Cozy questioned further.

Starlight smiled. “Don’t worry, I can contact your professors and tell them you won’t be in class today. I’ll help you with your homework later. And if you behave, I might even make you something special.”

The idea did sound appealing to Cozy, ever so slightly. But there was one thing that stopped her from outright considering it. “Uh… would I have to…” She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say what was on her mind. But if one watched her body language and took notice of where her gaze was fixated most they probably would’ve deduced what the filly was thinking about.

Starlight appeared to correctly deduce it as well, for she replied. “Oh, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. You just have to make sure you let know when you have to go, Twilight’s castle is very easy to get lost in.” In her mind she was thinking. “I should know. It took me forever not to keep opening broom closets by mistake. How did Twilight ever not get lost in the castle?”

The filly was most relieved at that statement and her relaxed posture indicated just how much of a weight was lifted by that reassurance. “Oh, good. I don’t want to give up my potty training. My parents wouldn’t be happy about that.”

Starlight simply replied to the filly. “Well, you don’t have to worry about them or about anypony else. You can just take a break from all those worries and let Mommy Starlight take good care of you. Okay?”

“Okay.” Cozy reluctantly agreed. As appealing as the idea sounded she was still ever so slightly uneasy about agreeing to it. A part of her mind told her it was wrong, it was childish and immature. And that part of her mind just wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Alright,” The unicorn mare gently called as she trotted closer to Cozy. “Hold my hoof, please. This won’t take more than a second.”

Cozy obeyed, and that was when Starlight lit up her horn. With a pop and a poof of magic the two of them disappeared. Outside the office, a note appeared around the door that read “Out to Lunch: Please see Spike”.

Mare and filly reappeared in a secluded part of Twilight’s castle. A room that had been seen by only a select few since its remodeling.

Cozy looked all around and could hardly believe her eyes. She seemed to be staring at a giant nursery. It had everything you would expect to find in one: A changing table that was fully stocked, a crib with pillows all nice and fluffed, a playpen with several toys and stuffed animals, and even a highchair with a latchable bar. All sized up to fit ponies her age, possibly even bigger.

Starlight smiled as she waved a hoof. “This is something I built with my magic. It’s actually a projection of the nursery I had as a little filly, only bigger.”

“Golly, you had this all set up with just your magic?” Cozy pondered while looking around.

Starlight nodded. “It was originally just going to be an experiment, to see if I could pull it off. But after I succeeded it looked so nice that I didn’t want it to go away,” Then she added. “Sometimes Twilight uses it when Flurry Heart stays over or Pinkie brings the twins over for a playdate, even though they’re not really in diapers anymore.”

Cozy remembered briefly seeing Pound and Pumpkin Cake before. They were an unmistakable presence at Sugarcube Corner even if they were never seen without somepony watching them. But the name “Flurry Heart” was a mystery to her. “Who’s Flurry Heart?” She asked Starlight.

The mare flashed a warm smile. “Twilight’s adorable niece. She’s actually almost two years old now,” She wiped a lone tear from her eye. “I can remember when she was still an infant. They really grow up fast these days.”

“Are you alright, Counselor Starlight?” Cozy asked.

Starlight nodded her head. “I’m fine, Cozy. Just getting a bit sentimental,” She quickly regained her composure. “Anyway, since Flurry Heart doesn’t visit too often this room is usually sealed off. But I figured it’s the perfect place to take care of big little ones like you. So go ahead, feel free to explore. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

And that was all the encouragement Cozy needed. If it were somepony else she might not have felt so assured. But despite her limited experiences she knew that Starlight was a pony who could be trusted. So she let go of Starlight’s hoof and began exploring, taking the opportunity to get used to the diaper and the waddle it gave to her movements (a waddle that Starlight found oh so adorable).

The pegasus soon reached the playpen and her eyes locked onto a giant teddy bear. It reminded her a lot of the one she’d slept with until her parents had taken it away from her at the age of five, telling her she was too old to be sleeping with stuffed animals. “Why did my parents have to be such poopy heads?” Cozy thought to herself. “They never let me enjoy my childhood. They forced me to grow up before I ever got a say. The next time I see them, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!” And she immediately fluttered over to the teddy, hugging it tightly.

The giant teddy bear wasn’t the only object of interest in the playpen. There were several other stuffed animals to play with as well, not to mention several toys that ranged from rattles and squeaky tools to alphabet blocks and even a playset with little dolls.

Starlight sat on the floor, watching Cozy play without saying a word. It really warmed her heart to see the filly so calm and carefree. To think that this same filly had come to her office just yesterday and in tears had confessed to sharing letters with Tirek. It was amazing how much of a difference a day could make. And hopefully, that would convince Twilight not to be too harsh on Cozy. Whenever Twilight came back from Canterlot anyway.

A short time later though, Cozy was floated out of the playpen and placed gently in the highchair as a bib was tied around her neck. “You must be getting hungry by now,” Starlight told the filly. “So what do you say to some lunch?”

“Oh boy!” Cozy eagerly licked her lips in anticipation. “What’s on the menu? Pizza? Hayburgers? Cupcakes?”

Starlight shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Cozy. A growing filly like you needs her nutrition,” She floated over several jars of flavored foal food. “What would you like? I’ve got Cream of Carrot, Strawberry Surprise, and Squashed Pumpkin. No Mashed Peas though, I know nopony likes them.”

Cozy frowned as she looked at the different jars, pushing them away. “Can’t I have something else? Something yummy?”

“Oh but Cozy, foal food is yummy. And it’s good for you too,” Starlight insisted in a motherly tone of voice, tapping a spoon against one of the jars. “You’re not leaving this chair until you’ve been fed properly. And don’t forget, I promised to make you something special if you behaved. So, are you going to cooperate? Or are you going to make it difficult for both of us?”

"Ha, what are you going to do? Force me to eat it?" Cozy asked and giggled

"Yes," Starlight answered. "If you don't hurry and pick I'll pick for you, little missy!"

Any will Cozy might have had to resist faded upon hearing Starlight talk in such a way. It sounded so much like her own mother, a mare who tolerated no foolishness or bad behavior and punished quite sternly. Without speaking a word she opened her mouth as wide as she possibly could.

Starlight proceeded to deposit a spoonful of yellow colored foal food onto Cozy’s tongue and watched as the filly swallowed it without hesitation. “See, it’s totally yummy isn’t it?” She spoke in what sounded like a coo. “Such a good filly for cooperating. Yes you are, oh yes you are.”

The spoon feeding continued for several more portions, each one bringing a different flavor to Cozy’s tongue. And the filly accepted without any sort of protesting. Just as Starlight had said the food was yummy, better than anything Cozy had ever tasted before in her life.

Cozy was still careful not to make too much of a mess though. Her parents had raised her to be better than that. Thus, when meal time ended, there was not a trace of foal food anywhere on her cheeks or on her bib.

Starlight was surprised, but not ungrateful as she helped her young charge out of the high chair and removed the bib. She then opted to give the filly a gentle pat on her diapered rump to encourage her. “Go ahead and play more, Cozy. You deserve it for being such a good little filly.”

So Cozy resumed her play time, gathering up several of the stuffed animals and hosting a pretend tea party with them.

The filly hadn’t been playing for long though when she felt her stomach growl again. At first she thought she was just hungry again and thought nothing of it. But a second rumbling snapped her out of her state of ignorance. She groaned, putting a hoof to her stomach.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Starlight asked as she approached the playpen, having noticed the troubled expression on Cozy’s face.

Without bothering to reply to Starlight, Cozy flapped her wings and fluttered out of the playpen, which only made the pressure building up inside her even worse. Thus she stopped flying sooner than she might have liked, opting to go back to her hooves just to give her tummy a bit of relief. Her previous slow crawl was replaced by a dash to the door of the nursery! “I really need to find a bathroom!” She thought to herself.

Starlight immediately chased after the filly, having deduced what the likely problem was. “Cozy, wait! I told you it’s easy to get lost!” She shouted at the filly. “Let me help you!”

But alas Cozy was too far away to hear, she was too fixated on finding the nearest bathroom (or anything that could serve as a make-shift one if possible)! She was a big filly, she wasn’t going to have an accident!

Unfortunately, Cozy’s lack of familiarity with the castle layout meant that she was perplexed and confused by the many look alike doors in the hallway immediately connected to the nursery. She opened door after door, but found nothing to indicate a bathroom. Lots of broom closets, a couple of bedrooms, but no bathrooms! There had to be one in the castle though, there had to be!

Suddenly though, Cozy’s search came to an abrupt and unfortunate end. Try as it might her body could hold back no longer. She froze in place in the middle of a hallway and her tail hiked upward. Tears of shame began to well up inside her as her body operated entirely on auto-pilot, and a powerful stench began to permeate the surrounding area. The good news was that it was very brief, within a minute the deed was done. But the smell of Cozy’s shame lingered, and the tears streamed down her cheeks unopposed.

Such was the scene that Starlight came upon, a very stinky Cozy Glow sobbing to herself over what she had done. The smell hit Starlight square in the muzzle and she had to resist the urge to plug her nose with a hoof (it had been a long time since she’d last had to change a dirty diaper). She approached Cozy very slowly even though she knew what had happened. “There there, Cozy. Everypony has accidents from time to time.”

“But… but… I’m a big filly. Big fillies don’t have accidents.” Cozy sniffled and sobbed.

“Sure they do, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Starlight reassured the stinky filly. “Nopony’s around but you and I. Nopony will ever have to know. But we need to get you cleaned up before you stink up the whole castle.”

Cozy just continued to sob. No amount of kind words or comforting gestures seemed able to get her to calm down.

So the unicorn with a grayish-purple coat decided then and there to resort to “extreme measures”. She’d studied a couple of books on foal care and how best to calm foals down. She’d discovered a couple of spells that unicorn parents used in situations like these to get their child under control. One of them could work wonders, if she cast it properly.

Building up a great deal of magic in her horn, Starlight’s concentration was unfortunately hindered by the smell that continued to bombard her nostrils. As such she cast the spell as soon as she felt it was ready. A flash lit the surrounding hallway, momentarily blinding Starlight!

When the flash had faded Starlight opened her eyes. Cozy had stopped crying, which was a good sign. But she didn’t seem to be moving.

Starlight nervously waved a hoof in front of the filly to try and get her attention. “Hello, Cozy?”

Cozy’s eyes blinked for a second. And then she opened her mouth. “Mommy?” She spoke.

“No, I’m Starlight. Starlight Glimmer?” Starlight corrected.

Cozy shook her head. “No. Mommy.” It appeared that she believed the mare standing before her to be her mother. Cozy promptly reached her hooves out ,expecting a hug from her "Mommy". When Starlight didn't hug her she simply had tears begin to fall.

“Oh no! What did I do?!” Starlight thought in horror! Mentally regressing Cozy was most certainly not her intention. "Shh, shh! Cozy Glow, it's okay... Don't cry!" Starlight said, while rocking the filly back and forth. It was all she could think to do in the moment.

What To Do?

“Mommy?” Cozy Glow repeated, reminding Starlight of what she had done and thus denying her any chance to hope that this was all just a bad dream.

Starlight had to take several deep breaths to steady herself, especially because of the dirty diaper Cozy was still in. Before she could even hope to turn Cozy back to normal she had to get the filly into a clean diaper. Good thing she had her magic to keep the stinky filly afloat and a good distance away from her. “Come on, Cozy. Let’s get you changed. And then Mommy Starlight’s gonna find a way to change you back.”

Cozy obeyed, giggling at being held aloft by Starlight’s magic. “Mommy, I flying!” She happily declared as she extended her hooves.

“Yes, Cozy, I know you are,” Starlight replied. “But you’re going to have to come in for a landing soon.”

The unicorn soon reached the bathroom, continuing to hold Cozy in mid air with the soft glow of her horn. Good thing she had planned ahead and brought the changing supplies with her. Now comes the hard part, the part any parent or caretaker dreaded. “Well, Starlight, let’s get this over with.” She thought, giving herself a mental pep talk as she took a deep breath and held it.

With Cozy still floating in Starlight’s magic, the unicorn concentrated another tendril around the diaper’s tabs. She turned her head, not wanting to look as the tabs were undone and the diaper opened. Quick as a flash Starlight dropped it into a waiting waste basket nearby! From there, another tendril pulled several wet wipes from the pack. Their refreshing lavender scent was so much more pleasing than the sour note coming from the waste basket. Starlight worked quickly to wipe Cozy’s flanks clean and discarded the used wipes into the wastebasket too. After that she took out a diaper, sprinkled in a good helping of foal powder, and slid it underneath the pegasus. One last flick of her horn was all it took to strap the new diaper into place.

The diapering job completed, Starlight allowed herself a moment to relax. “I’ve still got it.” She told herself, wiping the sweat from her brows. But there was still the matter of the old diaper and wipes to take care of. She couldn’t just leave them in the wastebasket for Twilight or Spike to find.

Setting Cozy down on the bathroom floor, Starlight instructed the pegasus filly. “You stay right here, okay? Mommy will be right back.”

“Okay, Mommy. I be good.” Cozy gave something of a salute. At least she could still talk, so that was a hopeful sign that she wasn’t too far gone.

Starlight then reluctantly surrounded the waste basket with her magic. The diaper and wipes were floated out of it and into a bag, which was then sealed up and tied up within another bag just to be safe. She teleported away with the bag in tow, depositing it out front with the rest of the trash that was to be picked up. She made sure to hide it among the other bags so that no one would be able to notice there was one extra that shouldn’t have been there. Then the mare teleported back into the bathroom. “Alright, Cozy, now let’s…”

But Starlight’s sentence trailed off as she saw that Cozy had somehow managed to work her way over to the toilet nearby in the brief amount of time she’d been left alone. She was now perched on the seat, pushing the handle and giggling as the toilet flushed. “Heh heh! Flush the potty!” She appeared to be quite fascinated by it. However, in the midst of her spree as the toilet began to flush again, the pegasus lost her balance and tumbled off the seat. She landed in the bowl with a splash.

Starlight immediately rushed over and fished the filly out. She knew Cozy was too big to fit down the drain, but she still didn’t want to leave her in the toilet bowl. “Cozy, why did you do that? Now you’re all wet,” She frowned. “And I just changed you too! Now I’ll have to get another diaper!”

Cozy seemed to shrink and whimper as she was placed on a towel to drip and dry. “I sorry, Mommy. Flushing fun, I not mean to fall in.”

The unicorn sighed. “I know you didn’t. But the toilet is not a toy, you could’ve drowned. From now on, please don’t go anywhere near it without a grown-up. And only if you have to go potty, because that’s what the toilet is meant for.”

“Okay, I tell Mommy next time I gotta go potty. Mommy help me use big potty.” Cozy replied with a nod.

After Cozy had dried off enough, Starlight removed the filly’s sagging diaper that was filled with toilet water. Then she diapered the pegasus again, and this time she made sure to take Cozy with her when she left to dispose of the old diaper.

After washing her hooves (and helping Cozy do the same), Starlight left the bathroom and brought the regressed filly back to the nursery. She quickly proceeded to place the filly in the cirb. “Why you don’t take a nap for Mommy while Mommy tends to some grown-up things?” Starlight instructed. She knew that setting Cozy down for a nap would give her time to try and find a cure.

Cozy nodded. “Okay, I take nap for Mommy. Night night, Mommy.” And she lay her head upon the pillow, falling asleep almost before Starlight could wrap her up in the provided blanket.

Starlight waited, keeping a careful watch until she was certain the filly was indeed asleep and not pretending to be. Then she floated in a large device that was a gleaming white and had a large antenna on one side. She carefully turned it on, placing it on a desk near the crib. Now she’d be aware if her young charge needed something.

Then the unicorn mare carefully crept to the nursery door, taking care to close it gently behind her so not as to wake Cozy up again. But once she was safely out in the hall she made a mad dash to the library, panting heavily! Not since returning to her old village for the Summer Sunset Festival had she felt this unsure of herself!

Frantically, Starlight began pulling every book she could find off the shelves! One of them had to hold the cure to whatever she had accidentally cast on Cozy to leave her stuck with the mentality of a three year old (perhaps slightly older than that)!

Book after book was skimmed through rapidly, and book after book was tossed aside and into a pile that grew bigger with each passing second! “Urgh!” Starlight groaned quite audibly. “Come on! How hard is it to find a cure for a mental regression spell?! They have books on every other kind of mind spell in here!” She paused only briefly to glance at the foal monitor she’d set up in the library, then resumed her frantic search when she was certain Cozy didn’t need anything.

When every book in the castle library had been exhausted and Starlight hadn’t found the answers she was looking for, she teleported herself and the monitor to the school library. To her great relief it was currently empty.

“The school’s got to have something I can use!” The mare thought to herself. “Because if not I don’t know where else to look! And I don’t know how I’m going to juggle caring for a regressed filly on top of my guidance counselor duties!”

But unfortunately for Starlight the results were the same. Nothing seemed remotely close to what she was hoping for. Frustration began to give way to panic! “Come on! Come on!” She said to herself, only barely able to keep her voice to a whisper. “I can’t be the first pony who’s ever messed up and mentally regressed somepony!”

Just as the mare was about to resign herself to the possibility that she would never find a cure for Cozy’s condition, she happened to catch a glimpse of Twilight trotting past on her way to the headmare’s office. If anypony could find an answer that the books couldn’t, it would be Twilight. Starlight couldn’t remember the last time Twilight had been stumped by a spell.

So it was that Starlight made her way to Twilight in the headmare’s office, taking care to avoid being spotted.

Twilight was more than a little surprised to see Starlight, but kept her calm as she suspected nothing. “Starlight? Is something wrong?”

Starlight immediately locked the doors to the headmare’s office and threw herself in front of Twilight in dramatic fashion! “Twilight, I did a terrible thing!”

“Starlight, calm down. I’m sure that whatever it is you can solve it,” Twilight reassured her former student. “What did you do?”

The unicorn immediately blurted out. “I accidentally cast a spell on Cozy Glow that mentally regressed her!”

Twilight took the news surprisingly well. “You did what?!”

“I swear, it was an accident! I was just trying to help her relax and it was just supposed to be a simple relaxation spell,” Starlight insisted while inhaling deeply. “Please, you’ve gotta help me! I can’t find a single book that tells me how to change her back!”

“Well, where is Cozy Glow? You didn’t leave her in your office, did you?” Twilight questioned.

Starlight shook her head. “No, she’s back at the castle, sleeping in the nursery. She’s currently at the level of a three year old,” And she proceeded to plead. “You’ve got to help me change her back! Please!”

“Well, I’ll need to get a look at her first. If there’s no books to go on I can’t make any guesses,” Twilight told Starlight, before she sighed. “Unfortunately, I’ve also been tasked with setting up more security around here. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna suspect Tirek might be plotting to break out of Tartarus again. And if he finds out Cozy Glow went back on his word, there’s no telling what he might do.”

“You think he’d hurt an innocent filly that he took advantage of?” Starlight pondered with great (almost motherly you might say) concern.

Twilight nodded her head. “With Triek all bets are off. If he could manipulate Discord into siding with him, anything seems possible,” Then she added. “But we can worry about that later. For now, let’s see what you did to Cozy and if I can change her back.”

Author's Note

I know I'm not uploading things fast enough, as it turns out I get a little busy and ended up getting stressed out last week.

Mr. and Mrs. Glow

Twilight teleported back to the castle with Starlight, and followed Starlight to the nursery located at the castle’s rear. Just as she’d said the filly was resting in the crib that just barely fit her, a baby blue pacifier bobbing up and down in her mouth.

But Cozy was not asleep for long. As if she were mentally linked to Starlight’s presence she woke up, yawning as the pacifier popped out of her mouth. It was now possible to notice the diaper hugging her rear tightly. Which in normal circumstances might have seemed cute.

But these were not normal circumstances. Just by looking at her moderate scarlet eyes it was easy to tell that something was not right with Cozy. She sat there in the crib, glancing at Starlight and the pony she didn’t seem to recognize standing beside the unicorn. “Mommy?” She spoke briefly. “Who that?”

Starlight struggled to clear her throat. “Oh… this is…” It took her a moment to come up with a workable answer. “Your Auntie Twilight. She’s here to help me so that I can take better care of you. Okay?”

Twilight was shocked to suddenly be called an Aunt too Cozy Glow, although this situation was a little werid, she definitely didn't want too keep Cozy Glow like this even if she was working with Tirek, she wouldn't wish this punishment on anypony.

Cozy appeared to briefly ponder this new piece of information, before she clapped her hooves and readily accepted it. “Okay.” She proceeded to rock back and forth on her padding.

Twilight took that as a sign that the mentally regressed filly was pacified and would not try to fight her. So she slowly trotted up to Cozy, her horn glowing ever so faintly. “Hold still please, sweetie. This should take just a minute.” She spoke in the same tone of voice she was used to using whenever she was around her niece, Flurry Heart.

The little pegasus didn’t fight back at all. If her mommy trusted this “Twilight” then she did too. She held as still as possible (which was rather difficult given her little mind and limitless energy).

A minute was all that it took for Twilight to press her horn up to Cozy’s forehead and do a scan. When it was done she lifted her horn, ceased the glow, and turned to Starlight. The expression on her face was hard to judge. It didn’t look happy but it also didn’t appear to be saddened. It seemed to be one of those half way sort of things.

Cozy Glow dropped her pacifier and somehow was able to reach Twilight's hoof and started sucking on it like it was a cup.

Twilight reacted fast after a few suckles "Ew! No, Cozy Glow, bad girl! You do not suck on anyponies hooves!" She scolded then turned to Starlight.

“Well?” Starlight asked Twilight. “You can reverse it, right? Right?!”

Twilight spoke slowly, as if piecing together her conclusion at the present moment. “It’s hard to say for sure, Starlight. That spell you cast appears to have been quite powerful, it’s not something I can just undo.”

“You mean she’s gonna be stuck like that forever?! She’s gonna have to grow up all over again?!” Starlight gasped in horror! “I was only trying to help her relax! I didn’t mean to do that to her!”

Twilight shook her head and threw up a hoof. “Starlight, calm down. I’m not saying that. I’m pretty sure I can reverse it eventually. It seems that there’s a small trace of her old mentality buried deep in her subconscious, it’s how she recognized you as her mother after all. Kind of like how a newborn duckling gains an imprint of the first thing it sees when it opens its eyes,” She paused briefly. “However, getting that part of her to come out again will be difficult. It will probably take a few days at least to perfect the spell.”

“Really? Even you can’t just change her back?” Starlight pondered.

Twilight shook her head again. “I’m afraid not. And even if I could, I've got a lot on my plate to juggle between running the school and upgrading security around these parts. In the meantime,” She turned to Cozy. “It might be best if you took care of her. She trusts you and she’ll listen to you. She might not be as cooperative with others,” Twilight giggled and then said. "You might need to get used to changing diapers for awhile, Starlight"

As if on cue the two mares heard a loud rumbling, a rumbling that was coming from the little filly in their care. “Mommy, I hungry.” Cozy declared.

Starlight simply sighed, trotting over and picking Cozy up. “Alright then, it has been a while since you last ate. I think it’s time for dinner.”

For the rest of the day, Starlight (with Twilight’s help) took care of Cozy as best one could in this unexpected situation: Whether it was feeding (regular and bottle), taking Cozy to the bathroom the few times she remembered to ask a grown-up, or often just playing with the filly and her active imagination.

Even though Cozy was an older toddler than Flurry Heart, the experience still drove Starlight ragged and left her mane in a frazzled state. Caring for a little one on her own was an experience she would have to get used to.

As for Twilight, she tried to divide her time evenly between the two tasks she’d previously undertaken and the new one that now demanded her attention whenever possible. A problem when the royal guards that were supposed to be deployed around Ponyville had yet to arrive.

The very next day found Twilight in her office at the school, looking over what few scrolls she had been able to dig up on age spells. From them she was working on developing a counter spell to return Cozy to normal.

A task that was made difficult by a knock at the door. Still, Twilight did her best not to frown or yell. As headmare she had to remain calm. She trotted over to the door and opened it. To her surprise, a pegasus stallion and a unicorn mare of considerable height entered the room. Both of them easily towered over Twilight. Heck, she suspected they might be even bigger than Princess Celestia.

The pegasus stallion had a coat that was a very light grayish-white in color, a mane and tail that was a pale, light grayish arctic blue in color and done up in locks, moderate scarlet eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a king chess piece similar in color to the rook that was Cozy’s cutie mark. The unicorn mare had the same pinkish gray coat as Cozy, but her eyes were blood red, her mane and tail were curls of light arctic bluish gray, and her cutie depicted a queen chess piece the same color as the stallion’s.

“Can I help you?” Twilight innocently asked the tall ponies as she fought back a gulp.

The stallion spoke first. His deep, booming voice echoed everywhere and would’ve struck fear into even the bravest of hearts. “Where’s our daughter?!” He demanded of the princess.

“Your daughter?” Twilight questioned even though she had a pretty good idea as to whom the stallion was referring to. The sheer number of similarities seemed way too unlikely to be coincidence.

“Surely the name Cozy Glow rings a bell to you, princess!” The stallion growled as he shook and clenched his front left hoof. “She’s attending your school, isn’t she?!”

Twilight nodded even as she had to step back a bit in fright. “W-why yes, yes she is. She didn’t really mention either of you though.”

The mare raised her snout in the air and gave a haughty humph. “Small wonder. Our daughter ran away from home in rejection of the path we laid out for her. A path far more suitable than a school of friendship in some backwater town that nopony ever heard of until you settled there!” She proceeded to gesture a hoof. “I am Soft Glow, and this stallion you see is my loving and supportive husband Warm Glow.”

Warm Glow stomped a hoof down. “Enough with the pleasantries! We want our daughter back! She is going to be in so much trouble for this!”

But Twilight plucked up courage. “I’m afraid that’s impossible, Mr. and Mrs. Glow. Since Cozy came here and started attending my school, she became my responsibility.”

“I don’t think so!” Soft Glow coldly hissed. “We signed no such agreement. We would’ve been here much sooner had we known that this is where our daughter chose to run off to. What was wrong with the boarding school in Trottingham that we had picked out for her? It’s a fine place for shaping young minds.”

“Now where is our daughter?!” Warm Glow demanded anew. “She’s here when she should be with us! You can either tell us and help us, or we’ll find her on her own and take her back ourselves! And don’t think your fellow princesses will bail you out, the law is on our side.”

The young princess hesitated at the demand, her lips started to tremble. She didn’t like Cozy’s parents at all. But she couldn’t think of a way to lie to them and make them go away. “Starlight’s going to hate me for this,” She thought to herself. “But maybe once they see what’s become of Cozy they’ll change their mind.” “O-okay, okay. Just give me a second and I’ll take you to her,” Twilight told the parents. “I should warn you though, she’s not herself.”

“Whatever she is, we’ll straighten her out. You can be sure of that.” Warm Glow warned.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Twilight told the parents in response and then instructed. “Follow me, please.”

In the nursery in the castle, Starlight had just finished cleaning up after a breakfast for Cozy Glow that consisted of oatmeal with honey and strawberries. In her new mental state the filly had enjoyed flinging globs of oatmeal everywhere, much to Starlight’s annoyance. “How does Sunburst manage with Flurry Heart all the time? He makes it look so easy,” She thought to herself. “Heck, Pinkie Pie seems to have no trouble with the Cake Twins. Though they were already starting potty training by the time I came around.”

All of a sudden the nursery door swung open without warning! “Cozy Glow!” A loud, booming voice shouted! It was so loud that Starlight had to cover up her ears to keep them from ringing.

The voice, though only vaguely familiar to Cozy in her current state, caused her to whimper and shrink. She promptly hid behind Starlight for protection.

“Do not hide from us, young lady!” A stern, snooty female voice declared. And into the room trotted a pair of ponies Starlight had never seen before. A tall pegasus stallion and unicorn mare, both of whom bore striking resemblances to Cozy in many ways, and both of whom didn’t look happy at all with what they saw.

“Who are you?! How did you get in here?! And what do you want with Cozy Glow?!” Starlight demanded as she felt suddenly and strangely protective. “You’ve got five seconds to explain yourselves!”

Twilight quickly intervened to defuse the tensions. “Starlight, these are Cozy Glow’s parents: Warm Glow and Soft Glow. They’re here for their…” The next word left her mouth very reluctantly. “Daughter.”

At that Starlight nearly jumped! “They’re here for her now?!”

“And why not?” Soft Glow frowned as she noticed her daughter hiding behind Starlight. “It seems you’ve done enough damage to her as it is,” To Cozy she then declared. “Why are you wearing diapers?! You’re far too old for them!” Soft Glow glared at Starlight. "This has you written all over it, I bet you have been forcing her to wear those disgusting things! We should report this to Celestia!" She threatened.

Starlight was quick to answer. "Whoa, Whoa! No, that's not it at all… It's a long story"

Cozy Glow whimpered, still hiding behind Starlight. “No, I only three! Mommy says I still need diapers in case of accidents!”

“What are you talking about?! You don’t have accidents!” Warm Glow growled at his daughter. “And Miss. Glimmer isn’t your mother!”

“Nu-uh, Mommy is Mommy!” Cozy protested while whimpering more, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Cozy, what is the meaning of this?! Why are you talking like a toddler?! And why do you say you’re three when you’re clearly not?!” Warm Glow sternly demanded. “Stop trying to pretend, missy! If you don't stop acting this way we will have no choice but to give you a BIG spanking on that bottom little missy. Whatever this school has done to you, it ends here and now!”

Soft Glow was quick to add. “You are coming back with us, missy! You’re going to that boarding school in Trottingham whether you like it or not!” And then she trotted forward, lighting up her horn. “Enough of this childish game, Cozy! You will respect your parents and do as you are told!”

“NO!” Starlight shouted at the top of her lungs and lit up her own horn, promptly getting into a magical tug of war with Soft Glow over Cozy!

This succeeded in reducing Cozy to tears, she wailed quite audibly. And to make matters worse, a hissing sound could be heard as her padding swelled up and took on a noticeable yellowish tint.

Upon seeing this display, Soft Glow released her grip on her daughter. “I don’t believe it! My own daughter has peed herself like a helpless little baby!” And she glared at Starlight. “What have you done to my child?!”

“Don’t you see?!” Starlight protested. “You caused this! Your daughter cut off ties with you because you wanted to control her life! Because of you she almost became a traitor to Equestria when she reached out to Tirek!”

“What?! Is this true?!” Warm Glow questioned Twilight.

Twilight confirmed with a nod. “I’m afraid it is. Thankfully, she came to us before Tirek’s plan could be complete. But she told us that she felt pressured to make friends, that she was having a hard time with it,” And she seemed to glare at the two tall ponies. “And now I think I can see how she might have had such problems. You tried to control her life so she would live the way you wanted her to. You never stopped to consider what she wanted,” She proceeded to add with a grin. “If you leave now though, I won’t tell the princesses or file a complaint with Equestria’s child care services.”

“Fine, be that way! You can have Cozy for all we care!” Warm Glow relented, not wanting to risk an argument or the possibility of a legal battle. “Tell her that we’re disowning her! If she wants to act like this and turn her back on all the possibilities we had laid out for her, she’s our daughter no longer!”

“Good, then you can leave now,” Starlight insisted. “And be sure to not let the door hit you on the way out.”

Six Very Special Babysitters

With the matter of Cozy’s parents taken care of (for the time being), Twilight could now turn her attention to researching the cure for Cozy’s condition. She hadn’t informed her friends about what had happened to Cozy, mostly because they hadn’t yet approached her about Cozy’s absence. When they eventually did she would tell them, no sense in keeping something like this a secret forever.

However, the very day after Mr. and Mrs. Glow’s arrival and departure, Twilight was interrupted in her research by an urgent knock on the door. The pony on the other side didn’t even wait for permission, he came strolling in decked out from head to hooves in royal guard attire. His coat was an easily identifiable tannish orange, he sported vivid cornflower blue eyes that looked so gentle, and a mane and tail two tones of modest sapphire blue in color. His cutie mark depicted a lighting bolt in front of a two toned blue shield.

“Your…” The stallion coughed into a hoof, appearing to blush. “Highness, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight looked up. “Oh, you don’t need to call me that. Just Twilight will do,” And she smiled at her guest. “Nice to see you again, Flash Sentry. It’s been too long.”

Flash reluctantly nodded his head. “Y-yeah, it has. Though I could’ve sworn I saw you and a pony who looked strangely familiar,” He cleared his throat. “But that’s not important right now. I’m here to head up the security detail for Ponyville, per Captain Armor’s request.”

“Really? B.B.B.F.F sent you? I thought for sure he’d refuse.” Twilight commented in surprise.

“He’s my captain first and foremost, he knows me better than most ponies. If he had any doubts about my abilities he wouldn’t have sent me. Er, besides, our relationship with each other will be strictly professional, you have my guarantee,” Flash firmly insisted as he straightened out his mane. “Now, what do you wish of me? Where should I have the guards set up?”

Twilight replied by trotting over to Flash. “I think it might be better if you got a look at the town, especially my castle. There are a lot of places that could use more protection. Plus, if royal guards are going to be stationed here, Mayor Mare will want to know. She’ll go a long way towards ensuring ponies don’t start panicking. Trust me, it doesn’t take much to get the ponies here worked up.”

Flash simply bowed his head. “Whatever you wish of me, your highness. I am yours to command from this point onward.”

“Good, then let’s set off,” Twilight declared, before she realized. “Ooh, but first I need to pay Starlight a visit! She’s going to have to take over for me again.”

Meanwhile, Starlight had reluctantly brought Cozy Glow and her supplies to the guidance counselor’s office. She had tried to leave the regressed filly in the nursery, but it seemed that said filly had gotten quite attached to the unicorn mare and didn’t want to be without her.

As Starlight was putting the supplies away, the door to her office flung open unexpectedly! “Counselor Starlight, do you have a moment? Or maybe two? Or maybe a dozen or more?” The voice of Silverstream called as the hippogriff fluttered in. “Spring break is coming up and I was thinking…” But the rest of her sentence trailed off as she happened to take in the sight of Cozy Glow in a diaper, clinging to Starlight’s mane.

Starlight realized her mistake too late as she spun around in time to find herself snout to snout with the very energetic hippogriff! “Is that Cozy Glow?! Why is she wearing a diaper?”

Cozy buried herself deeper into Starlight’s mane, the presence of the strange half bird/half pony creature that Starlight was talking with frightened the filly.

The unicorn sighed. Of all the creatures to find out it had to be Silverstream, the one known to be quite a chatterbox. “You need to keep this a secret, Silverstream. Cozy Glow got regressed accidentally, and Twilight and I are trying to work on a way to change her back to normal.” She instructed.

Silverstream just smiled, eyeing Cozy Glow. “Oh, she’s so cute like this. Nothing like that sneaky, manipulative little filly that was telling us friendship wasn’t in our nature,” Then she cooed. “Hey, it’s okay, Cozy Glow. I don’t bite. I wanna be your friend.”

Cozy was slow to poke her way out of Starlight’s mane. The creature seemed to be less noisy now, which was a good thing. She slowly reached out a hoof to touch the creature, feeling how soft the mane was (and how it smelt ever so faintly of sea water for some reason).

Starlight watched the whole thing, feeling an enormous sense of relief when Cozy didn’t freak out and start crying.

Just then, Twilight happened to teleport into the office! “Starlight!” She shouted, before noticing Silverstream. “Oh, Silverstream, hello,” Then she remembered. “Wait, Silverstream!”

Silverstream just smiled. “It’s okay, Headmare Twilight. I know about Cozy,” She scratched the filly’s chin lightly with a claw. “She’s really cute like this. She reminds me of Terramar when he was just a hatchling,” And she turned to Starlight. “Can I babysit her?! Please?! Can I?! Can I?”

Before Starlight could answer, Twilight decided for her. “As long as you promise to keep her where all her supplies are, Silverstream. It’s probably best if she remains here,” And she explained to Starlight. “Starlight, I need you to run the school again. I’m going to be busy showing the guards around Ponyville.”

“Are you sure it can’t wait until some other time? Preferably after classes are done for the day and I can just be with Cozy Glow?” Starlight questioned.

“I’m afraid not,” Twilight commented with a shake of her head. “Besides, you seem to be getting really attached to Cozy. You have to remember that she’s not actually three years old.”

“But it’s because of me that she thinks she is!” Starlight protested. “And you saw what her parents were like, they were horrible! Nopony should have to grow up with that kind of treatment!”

Twilight nodded her head. “I agree, but we can argue about what’s best for Cozy after she’s back to normal. For right now, I need to ensure the guards know their way around Ponyville, and you need to make sure the school keeps running smoothly,” She turned to Silverstream. “Plus, the whole purpose of this school is to help our students learn. There’s plenty of friendship lessons to be had in taking care of a little one.”

Silverstream then added. “What if I got my friends to help out? It could be like an extra credit assignment or something,” She suggested. “I promise they won’t tell, I’ll make sure of it. And if I’m being honest, some of them could use the experience.”

Starlight reluctantly relented, even though it pained her to do so. “This must’ve been what my dad went through every day when I was a foal,” She thought to herself. “No wonder he wanted to baby me so much.” And she told Silverstream. “Well, I guess you and your friends can do it. Just this once,” She was quick to point out. “She’s actually old enough for potty training. There’s an old training potty in that foal stuff somewhere. If it looks like she has to go, make sure she sits on it.”

Silverstream gave a salute. “Can do, Counselor Starlight!”

So it was that a short time later, Silverstream got all of her friends excused from classes and brought them all to the counselor’s office, telling them everything she knew about Cozy and what would be expected of them.

“You’re telling me that the same creepy, sneaky Cozy Glow who made us doubt ourselves is now stuck with the mentality of a toddler?” Smolder questioned. “If I didn’t know better I’d swear this was a really weird dream we’re all having. Also why don't we just keep her like this forever? At least now we don't have to worry about her doing anything crazy!" She added.

"But that would be mean, Smolder, besides if you got turned into a baby dragon I'm positive even Cozy Glow would help bring you back to normal!" Silverstream argued.

Smolder gaged at the thought of being a baby again. She sincerely hoped that would never happen to her.

Gallus sighed. “Whatever. If it gets me out of class and gives me some extra credit I really don’t care. Just don’t make me change diapers.” He made a gag face to emphasize his point.

Sandbar just grinned. “Aw come on, it’s not that bad. You get used to it,” And he added. “This’ll be just like taking care of my baby sister. I help Mom and Dad babysit her all the time, and she’s rarely trouble.”

Silverstream just cooed. “Well, Cozy’s right in here, guys. Come on, we’re gonna have so much fun with her today!”

Yona was the first to approach Cozy, quickly picking up the foal and hugging her tightly. “Yona can’t wait to play with Cozy, and make block tower with Cozy, and give Cozy bottles! Yona take good care of little Cozy!”

“Yona, you’re being too tight! You have to control your strength,” Ocellus scolded as she carefully pryed the filly from Yona’s arms (after Cozy started to cry due to the pressure). “Hey there, Cozy. You ready for some fun?”

Cozy nodded very slowly. “I like having fun. What we play?”

Gallus grinned. “I’ve got a good one,” He flew close and put a claw to Cozy’s nose, making a grabbing motion. “Got your nose!” He teased and held up his claw.

Cozy immediately pawed at her face with her hooves, acting as if Gallus had actually stolen her nose. “Give nose back!” She demanded.

But Gallus just held it aloft. “What’s the magic word, Cozy?”

Cozy didn’t play along, she just leaped up and fluttered her tiny wings. “Want nose back!” She demanded of Gallus, grabbing his claws!

“Ow! O-okay, okay! You can have your nose back!” Gallus insisted, surprised at how strongly the grip was from Cozy. He lowered his claws to her face and touched her nose. “Here, it’s yours. You play too rough for me.”

Yona just grinned as she trotted over. “Yona’s turn! Yona teach Cozy how to play nice!” She pulled the filly close again. “Here, Cozy bounce on Yona’s lap. Yak best at being bouncy castle!” She proceeded to lay down, letting Cozy bounce on her knees.

Cozy giggled as she bounced from knee to knee, occasionally flapping her wings to gain more altitude. But all that bouncing soon caused a problem. Almost before she realized it, her bladder released and an audibly hiss filled the room. “Oopsie! I pee pee!” She blushed.

“Don’t worry, little one. I’ll get you changed,” Ocellus cooed as she trotted over. “I volunteered in the nursery back at the hive. I learned a couple of things.”

Sandbar trotted over. “Did they teach you how to change a diaper? It’s a pretty complicated process, even I still mess it up sometimes.”

Ocellus shook her head. “I think I got it. You just fetch the wipes, powder, and new diaper. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Sandbar obeyed, and Ocellus worked with a surprising level of precision. In record time she had stripped Cozy of the wet diaper, wiped her rump clean, powdered her all over, and put the new diaper on. All Sandbar had to do was toss the old diaper in the trash, and he promptly left to wash his hooves.

Smolder blinked in surprise. “Wow! I’ve never seen anyone change a diaper that fast before!” Then she massaged the back of her neck with a claw. “Then again, I didn’t even know what diapers were until I came here. We never had any use for them in the dragon lands, they wouldn’t survive the lava pits and sharp rocks.”

“I don’t think I ever wore them. Maybe the griffons did back in the old days,” Gallus commented. “Not that I really care, but Gabby kind of acts like one of those big chicks. Might to have ask her if she is.”

After the quick change, Silverstream, Sandbar, Ocellus, and even Yona all joined in on playing with Cozy. They took turns doing all sorts of fun activities with her: Hoof painting (they made use of some buckets to wash off after they were done), story time, and block tower building (and destroying).

As a result it was inevitable when the regressed pegasus’ stomach started to growl. And once Cozy was placed in her high chair and had a bib tied to her, it was time for feeding.

But Smolder (who decided to try her luck at taking care of Cozy) found the task of spoon feeding to be difficult. Mostly because Cozy was intent on flinging her food back at Smolder. All sorts of different colored goop was flung onto her face and cheeks, which Cozy laughed at but Smolder didn’t. “Are we sure she’s not doing this on purpose just to get back at me?” The dragon huffed.

“She has the mind of a three year old, how could she be trying to purposefully target you?” Sandbar questioned. “She probably doesn’t even remember how suspicious you used to be of her.”

Smolder snorted. “The whole cute, innocent thing was way too odd. It was like she was trying too hard to make others like her.”

Silverstream just ribbed Smolder. “Well she’s changed now, and you need to stop being so hard on her,” She picked up the plastic spoon from Smolder. “Here, I remember this working wonders when I was just a hatchling.”

“What are you-” The orange scaled dragon began but was quickly cut off as a spoonful of Pureed Banana was forced down her throat. She was forced to swallow quickly, overwhelmed by the strong taste!

“See, Cozy?” Silverstream spoke up as the hippogriff gestured to Smolder. “If Smolder eats it then it can’t be poison.”

“So go ahead and eat up. You wanna grow up big and strong, don’t you?” Sandbar encouraged.

Cozy nodded her head and from that point onward she obeyed when every spoonful was given to her. She also quite a kick out of seeing Smolder drink milk from a bottle.

Smolder blushed while doing so. “What? I needed a way to wash out the taste,” And she glared at Silverstream. “Warn me the next time you do that!”

The rest of the day passed in a blur for the students after that. As the day came to a close they were feeling quite tired, and all of them curled up beside Cozy when she was settled down for a nap.

Starlight happened upon this particular scene when she finally came back to the counselor’s office. And her heart melted. “Cozy was having so much trouble making friends. And yet here she is now, sleeping peacefully and surrounded by six of them,” She thought to herself. “This is definitely not the same troubled filly who came to my office just a few days ago.”

But she knew that Cozy couldn’t stay in this regressed mental state forever. Sooner or later she would have to go back to normal.

Return To Normal

“And so, here is my castle. Or the Castle of Friendship as everypony calls it,” Twilight gestured a hoof to the crystal tree that had been her home ever since her battle with Tirek. “I actually used to avoid it because it didn’t feel like a home to me.”

Flash Sentry (along with the royal guards accompanying him) was quite impressed by the magnificent crystal structure that he saw before his very eyes. “And I thought the Crystal Empire’s castle was big!”

“Trust me, it’s even bigger on the inside. Even I still occasionally get lost inside it.” Twilight nervously chuckled and massaged the back of her neck with a hoof.

“Hey, it’s okay. I still sometimes lose my way around the Crystal Empire,” Flash reassured the princess. “Uh… don’t tell Captain Armor I said that. He’ll stick me with foalsitting duty for a month. And that’s if I’m lucky.”

With a chuckle Twilight replied. “Relax, my lips are sealed,” And she changed the subject. “Well, I guess everything’s in order now. You’ve seen all that there is to see. All the places in Ponyville that are of the highest priority to defend.”

Flash bowed and gave a salute. “And it will be my honor to personally guard your castle until further notice.”

“That’s nice of you to offer, Flash. But my castle doesn’t need protecting. It’s only been broken into once.” Twilight declared.

“That’s one time too many! If it can be breached even once, it can be breached again!” Flash demanded. “Please, Princess Twilight. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

A reluctant sigh escaped the alicorn’s lips. “Oh, alright. But only until we’re certain Tirek isn’t a threat. Because once that happens there’s no need to keep the increased security.”

Flash saluted again as he rose. “No worries, princess. For however long it may be, I’ll be honored to serve and protect you.”

Twilight smiled even as she thought to herself. “Flash is certainly eager to please. Maybe a little too eager.”

When the tour ended and the guards were all assigned to their posts around Ponyville, Twilight returned to the school. Classes had already been dismissed for the day, which meant she would have all the time she needed to work on the counter spell to cure Cozy.

Starlight, meanwhile, had left Silverstream and her friends to rest and had taken Cozy Glow back to the nursery in the castle.

In that particular moment as the mare watched over the mentally regressed filly, nothing else mattered. She just watched over Cozy as the little one’s chest bobbed up and down, all the while she suckled happily away on a pacifier that had been inserted into her mouth.

Cozy would probably wake up before long, she was never a deep sleeper and Starlight knew this. Taking care of a foal was quite demanding, but for moments like these Starlight wouldn’t trade it for anything in the whole wide world.

“She really deserves a better childhood than the one she had with her parents,” Starlight thought to herself as she kept a silent vigil over the slumbering pegasus. “I took having a father who loved me for granted, even if sometimes he could overdo it. I bet he went through a lot of what I’m going through now.” And she made a mental note to write him a letter expressing her newfound gratitude for raising her when she found the time.

But to the surprise of Starlight, Cozy slept for longer than she had ever slept before. Starlight just smiled at this. “Aw, all worn out from a day of fun with your new friends?” She silently whispered to the filly. But of course there was no reply.

Starlight didn’t mind the silence though, it gave her a chance to think. Deep down there was a part of her that wished Cozy could stay like this. But the rational part of her mind knew that was selfish and undesirable. The mental regression had been accidental, it would be wrong to keep Cozy in such a state no matter how peaceful she seemed or how easily she had made friends.

Eventually, just as the unicorn was preparing to fall asleep herself, she saw Cozy begin to stir within her crib. The little pegasus yawned and opened her eyes as she spat out her pacifier.

“Hi, Cozy,” Starlight greeted in a motherly tone of voice. “Did you have a good sleep?”

Cozy nodded her head. “I slept good, Mama.” And she stretched out her hooves.

Starlight took that as a cue to use her magic to pick Cozy up quite gently. With practiced precision at this point she pulled back the seam of Cozy’s diaper to check it. “All nice and clean,” She cooed. “What a good girl.”

Cozy nodded again. “I good, Mama. I use potty like big filly.”

“Oh, you did?” Starlight commented and patted Cozy’s head. “Such a good filly you are. I think that deserves something extra special. Something I picked up from Sugarcube Corner,” She floated the filly over to her high chair and placed her in it. Then with her horn glowing she presented the filly with a small cake. “Here you go, enjoy!”

The pegasus immediately used her hooves to dig into the cake, getting traces of frosting all over her face and bib. Starlight just laughed as she floated over a wet rag afterward to clean the filly’s face.

A couple more days passed as Starlight spent them mostly with Cozy, all the while the inevitably of Twilight finding a cure hung in the air. Meanwhile, the increased security continued even while Tirek didn’t appear to leave Tartarus and gave no indication of what his “plan” was.

At last, after a week had passed since the accidental mental regression, Twilight had big news for Starlight. In the throne room of the castle she held a scroll in the violet red glow of her magic. “I think I’ve finally discovered the cure to return Cozy to normal.” She informed her former student.

“That’s… great,” Starlight reluctantly commented. She had known this was likely to happen sooner or later, but she had grown quite attached to Cozy over the week. Eyeing the scroll she questioned. “You’re sure this will work, Twilight?”

“I’m ninety nine point nine percent positive.” Twilight nodded.

“And… what about that other point one percent?” Starlight reluctantly asked.

Twilight fought back a gulp. “In that case the regression would be permanent. Cozy would have to grow up all over again, mentally anyway. But with age spells there are few guarantees,” She continued to hold up the scroll. “Now, where is Cozy?”

“She should be in the nursery, she’s been pretty good at not wandering off,” Starlight commented. “You want me to go get her?”

Twilight shook her head. “We’ll come to her, Starlight. It’ll probably be better that way.” And the two teleported to the nursery.

Cozy paused in her playing with blocks to look up at the two grown-ups in her midst. “Hi Mommy, hi Auntie Twily.” She greeted with a wave.

Starlight did her best to keep a straight face. Why was she getting even more attached to Cozy now all of a sudden? “Cozy, Mommy needs you to do her a favor. Auntie Twily’s going to put her horn to your head, and you need to hold still. It may feel funny, but afterward you should feel just fine.”
"Why can't she stay this way forever? If she had the mind of a goal forever she'd have a better life!" Starlight thought even though she had to let Twilight do it. Part of her wondered if perhaps Cozy would ever feel comfortable being treated like a foal sometimes?

The pegasus obliged as Twilight did just as Starlight had said. The moment the horn made contact with Cozy’s forehead there was a brief but brilliant flash of light! Both mares shut their eyes!

When the flash faded and both mares opened their eyes, Cozy stood before them looking the same as she had before. Her moderate scarlet eyes just blinked but she spoke not a word.

“So, Cozy,” Starlight reluctantly broke the silence. “How do you… feel?”

Cozy looked down at herself, taking notice of the diaper wrapped around her waist. Then she looked back up. “Golly. What am I doing here, Counselor Starlight?”

“You… don’t remember?” Starlight questioned the filly.

The filly shook her head. “Not really. It all felt like a dream or something, like I was watching somepony else pretend to be me. But it all felt so real. What I do remember is being in a messy diaper and feeling bad about it, you putting your horn to my head, and then suddenly I woke up here.”

Twilight gulped as she informed the filly. “Well, I’m afraid Starlight accidentally mentally regressed you. You had the mentality of a three year old for an entire week.”

Cozy eeped at the idea. “Oh no! I wasn’t too much trouble, was I?! My parents say I was a nasty, terrible pony as a toddler!”

“Cozy, you weren’t bad at all. Sure, you were a little bit mischievous and demanding, but that’s to be expected from a three year old,” Starlight told the filly. “And having met your parents personally, I can say that they are not the kind of ponies who should ever be parents.”

The pegasus gasped! “My parents! They know I’m here?!”

“Don’t worry, we made sure they couldn’t take you away,” Twilight informed Cozy. “When they saw you like this and saw how close you were to Starlight, they decided they didn’t want to try and raise you again. Though I’m sorry to say that they more or less gave up custody of you.”

Cozy hung her head. “My parents were so harsh, it’s almost like they didn’t want me at all.”

Starlight just put a hoof around the filly. “Well that’s okay, you don’t have to worry about them anymore. And you don’t have to worry about Tirek or making friends either. We’ve got increased security around here.”

“And Starlight tells me you made friends pretty easily in your regressed state.” Twilight reassured Cozy.

“Yeah? Well for now I think I’d like to get out of this diaper,” Cozy commented as she looked down at herself. “Uh, do I still have to wear them at night?”

“Only until we’re sure you’re not going to have accidents. Because otherwise it’s going to be rubber sheets from now on.” Twilight informed the filly.

Cozy sighed, but accepted the terms. “Okay. I guess a few more nights in diapers won’t hurt anything.”

“And you can always come to either Twilight or I if you’re having trouble,” Starlight informed Cozy as she undid the tabs on the diaper. “That’s what we’re here for.”

So Cozy left the nursery, deep in thought. She actually kind of liked the idea of being treated like a foal, a chance to experience the kind of foalhood her birth parents had denied her. Maybe someday when she worked up the courage, she would ask Starlight to be her mommy again, albeit without being mentally regressed. Being in diapers and being babied actually didn’t sound that bad, as long as it was done in secret anyway.