Author's Note

(WARNING!: Make no mistake this IS a padded pony fic! And as such as it will contain content that some readers will find disturbing! If you are uncomfortable with the idea of ponies in diapers, please click elsewhere and DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT READ!

For those who choose to stay, expect to see the following:
Diapers - Medium
Ageplay - Medium
AB/DL Themes - Medium to Heavy
Implied Diaper Usage (Wetting and Messing) - Light)

Yes, I know I keep putting the same content warning at the forefront of these fanfics. But I'm going to keep doing it simply because if I don't I just know someone's gonna complain that they weren't warned despite all the other signs.

Anyway, considering I've written more than a few stories involving Snap and Mane already, it was probably inevitable I'd do something padded with them. A lot of people have been harping on them for being bad parents, even though I think some of it is overdone (Snap and Mane aren't great parents by any stretch, but they're far from the worst we saw in the show. It does look like they loved Scootaloo sincerely and cared enough to keep in touch, but they were unintentionally neglecting her).

I also wanted to do something a bit more realistic this time, much like I did for my big padded pony project last summer, and try to focus more on real life situations when one is part of the AB/DL community. The important thing is to show that most want acceptance and understanding from others, even though it's something that can be difficult to understand.

An Unfortunate Discovery

At first, the news that her parents were finally coming home from their adventures was so incredible Scootaloo could hardly believe it was happening. When her parents showed up to the schoolhouse and had taken her and her Crusader friends out for ice cream sundaes as a celebration, it seemed like nothing could ruin the mood of this fantastic day.

Alas, things took a turn for the worse when Snap and Mane announced that they were moving to Shire Lanka and that Scootaloo was going to be with them. Several attempts to try and convince the filly's parents to change their mind ended in failure, and Scootaloo had begun to resign herself to the very real possibility of leaving behind the town she'd called home and all the friends she'd made there.

Snap and Mane were not completely unconcerned about their daughter's defiance, but it seemed they had already made up their minds and were convinced Scootaloo would come around in time. Moving to Shire Lanka would mean they'd all be together as a family again. No longer would the two adventurers have to rely on sending letters whenever they were close enough to a post office to deliver one. It really seemed like a good idea even if their daughter didn't agree.

So it was that Snap and Mane were busy boxing up everything in their house in preparation for the big move. It wouldn't be until the end of the week but that was fast approaching. They were even preparing to put their house up for sale the next day. Scootaloo hadn't come home yet but neither parent was overly worried, even before they'd entrusted care of their daughter to others (including Snap's sister and her special somepony) they'd gotten used to the fact that Scootaloo was a free range filly. She stayed out until nearly dark sometimes, and there was always a key or somepony waiting to let her into the house.

However, as Snap Shutter was finishing up with putting everything from his photography studio into boxes, he happened to sniff. A faint and vaguely familiar smell seemed to tickle his nostrils, although the stallion couldn't be sure it wasn't just mold or dust. "That's odd." He whispered to himself as he paused to sniff the air again.

Although it had been very quiet, Mane Allgood's trained ears had picked up what her husband was saying. She set down a bunch of cardboard boxes she'd been carrying and came over to him. "What's odd, dear? Is everything alright?"

"Hun, take a whiff and tell me you smell what I'm smellin'," Snap instructed. "Tell me I'm not imaginin' things."

Mane did so, and ended up sneezing and briefly fluttering into the air. "Well, I definitely smell something. What is it that you smell, Snap?" She asked the stallion.

Snap explained. "I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm smellin' cornstarch powder," He lowered his snout to the ground and started sniffing more. "And it smells like it's comin' from down the hallway. Sure hope we didn't accidentally spill somethin' my sis left behind." He began to follow the smell down the hallway in order to trace its source, his wife following close behind as she too smelt the smell.

The smell of cornstarch powder grew stronger and more recognizable as the two adventurers made their way down a long hallway. It wasn't coming from their bathroom, so any possibility of it being a perfume Holiday had forgotten to take with her was now ruled out.

In fact, was it the imagination of the two or did the scent appear to be coming from Scootaloo's bedroom? Well, neither Snap Shutter or Mane Allgood had become the adventurers that they were by leaving things alone. If something warranted further investigation or a closer look they were always the kind to keep inspecting until they had a satisfactory answer.

The door to Scootaloo's bedroom had been left open ajar, most likely from the filly's rush to hang out with her friends while she still could. The smell was most definitely coming from within the room, so Snap pushed the door open further and trotted inside with his wife accompanying him but a second later.

Inside Scootaloo's bedroom there were a few boxes that sat empty, they hadn't been used yet. Heck, they hadn't even been opened. The entire room was still lined with posters of the Wonderbolts as well as Rainbow Dash, and even a few posters of the legendary pillar of bravery himself: Flash Magnus. Atop the filly's bed rested her hoof-stitched Rainbow Dash plushie Auntie Lofty had sewn for her. And of course Scootaloo's trusty scooter, a birthday gift from her parents, lay at the foot of the bed alongside the accompanying blue safety helmet.

Yet nothing on or near the bed seemed to be admitting the source of the now almost overwhelming scent of cornstarch powder, along with a faint hint of lavender. In fact, the strong smells seemed to be coming from under the bed.

Though usually respectful of their daughter's privacy, Snap and Mane were determined to discover the source of the smells they'd been smelling. So they decided not to wait until their daughter came home, and ask her. Instead, they opted to bend down and inspect a small crawl space underneath the bed.

It was dark and musty under there, and it was clearly meant for a filly to navigate it instead of fully grown ponies. But Snap was able to make out something out of the corner of his light raspberry eyes. He thought he saw a triangle shaped object, but he couldn't be sure and there was only one way to find out. Using a hoof, Snap reached out to grab the object and pull it closer for further inspection.

Mane helped since her pegasus body made her slightly more agile, enabling her to lift up one end of the bed just enough for her husband to pull the object free from its resting place. Then she carefully set the bed back down again. The effort hardly registered in her, this was the same mare who'd once wing wrestled a wyvern after all (and had assisted her husband in subduing several fully grown cragadiles).

Now fully out in the light, Snap and Mane got a closer look at the object that had been hidden. Or rather objects, because there were several of them! These included some worn out alphabet blocks, an old rattle, a cyan blue pacifier, and even a bottle of cornstarch foal powder and lavender scented wet wipes. Then they saw a package with a dozen of white plastic squares tightly packed into each other. The father and mother were both quite stunned seeing the package of what were clearly diapers, with a few sticking out of a hastily opened package that still managed to display the words: Silly Filly.

Mane Allgood then noticed something sticking out from underneath Scootaloo's pillow. Pulling it out revealed the object to be a set of hoofie pajamas styled after Rainbow Dash's coat and cutie mark, but with added room in the back alongside a zipper.

In short, Snap and Mane found themselves staring at foal supplies. The size of everything, especially the diapers and the pajamas indicated that they would fit their daughter perfectly. But that could mean anything, right? It didn't automatically mean what the two feared it meant, did it?

Well, the parents knew that there was only one way to find out. All they had to do was wait for Scootaloo to come home.

Scootaloo finally came home several hours later, unaware of her parents' discovery. The tomboyish filly had spent the day unsuccessfully brainstorming new ideas with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders to try and get her parents to abandon their planned move to Shire Lanka.

To say that the ideas had not been successful would be an understatement. Scootaloo still shuddered at the memory of Apple Bloom concocting a potion that had literally binded the Crusaders together, which had required a visit to Zecora in order to have an antidote brewed up.

It really seemed like nothing was going to convince her parents as Scootaloo entered the house and shut the door behind her. To her surprise, however, her mom and dad were already waiting for her. And from the looks on their faces it didn't seem like they were very pleased with her at the moment.

"H-hey Mom, hey Dad," Scootaloo nervously greeted. She suspected something was up but had no idea what. "Is... everything okay?"

Mane Allgood spoke up first, her grayish purple eyes looking deep into the similarly colored eyes of her daughter as they cast that all powerful intimidating glare that made even the most dangerous of predators tremble with fear. "We were hoping you could tell us, Scootaloo. Your father and I made a discovery, and we'd really like to know just what in the name of Celestia is going on."

Snap Shutter was serious and blunt. "Come on, mate. Let us show you what your mum and I uncovered. Don't think of tryin' to run away, we're not lettin' this go until we get some answers."

So Scootaloo reluctantly followed her parents as they brought her to her bedroom. They then laid bare all the sized up foal supplies they'd discovered hours earlier as the filly gulped. "So... you know?" She answered as her wings buzzed with nervous energy.

"Know what, mate?" Snap questioned as he kept the serious glare up. "You been wettin' the bed again or somethin'? I thought we fixed that issue already."

But the tomboyish filly protested as she shook her head. "No, it's not because I'm wetting the bed. I haven't done that in years," And she confessed to her parents. "All of these things are mine, I've been collecting them in secret. In fact, I've worn the pajamas and the diapers, used the pacifier and played with all those toys."

Mane then questioned. "And the changing supplies? I assume that means you've been... well..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say anything more. And she didn't need to since her line of conversation made it clear what she was implying.

Scootaloo's cheeks flushed faintly. "Sometimes, though usually not."

Snap and Mane felt their jaws drop wide open as Snap exclaimed! "Crikey! What's the matter with you, Scoot?! You're way too old to be wearin' diapers and dressin' up like a foal. Your mum and I worked hard to get you out of diapers, and now you're just throwin' that all away?!"

The tears began to well up inside Scootaloo as she angrily confessed! "It's not that I want to be a helpless little foal who can't do anything! It's not that I don't care about the work you put into getting me potty trained."

"Then why would you indulge in something so... so... Well, I don't even know what to call it," Mane Allgood bitterly remarked. "It's not natural though, whatever it is."

Scootaloo stomped her hooves down. "I knew you two wouldn't understand!"

"Understand what, Scoot?!" Snap angrily inquired. "That our only daughter likes to dress up like and act like an overgrown toddler?! Do you take us for a bunch of drongos?!"

With tears flowing freely, the tomboyish filly roared back at the top of her lungs! "It's not like that at all! It's because of you! Because of the fact that you're never around! I missed you both so much, I wanted the kind of love and attention you used to give me before you went away on your adventures, basically dumping me into the care of my aunts. I know your jobs were important, but it felt like you were saying I wasn't!" She didn't even care that the allegations were probably not entirely true. And without waiting for a reply she just bolted, snatching up all the supplies along with her Rainbow Dash plushie and the pajamas as she ran away!

"Scootaloo, wait!" Snap tried to call out to his daughter. "You get your flank back here this instant and tell us where you've been gettin' all this stuff!" But it was no use, Scootaloo had already fled.

Neither parent knew what to make of this situation.