The 'Glow' of Friendship

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.”