The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked down the hallway of Ponyville General Hospital, their hooves echoing as they took each step across the tile floor.
The three of them were shoulder to shoulder as they made their way toward their destination.
Coming to the hospital once a week had become a common ritual for the trio, some unfinished business the three felt they needed to keep trying to help with as best they could.
As they made their way to the final set of doors, Sweetie Belle used her magic to withdraw the key card and swipe them in.
This was considered a private medal wing, where only authorized personal could enter. But given their particular job, they definitely fell into this category.
As the three entered, a large room sat just to the left of them, with large glass windows surrounding the enclosed room so it could be viewed from all sides.
A glance inside would lead most ponies to mistake the room to be a simple nursery for young patients at the hospital, but a closer look would lead a pony to believe otherwise.
The room indeed was a nursery, with cribs, foal toys, changing tables, and similar things, but the items were much larger.
It was clear by looking at everything in the room the items were sized for much larger ponies than a typical sized foal, and a look at the room’s inhabitants would explain why.
Throughout the room, six ponies were scattered across the floor, each in a variety of positions as they went about their day.
Five stallions and a mare, all looking to be in their mid teens, laid with diapers fastened around their waists. Some were more used then others and each seemed to be acting like babies.
One was sucking their hoof, another was nuking on a pacifier. One was clutching a plush bunny as they babbled incoherently. The others seemed to be acting similarly.
These faces to the CMC were all too familiar. They were the campers of camp blank flank, and true to the name, each of their flanks was still as bare as the day they were born.
It had all gone so wrong.
Rumble steeling their campers, them trying everything to show them that there was nothing wrong with earning their cutie marks, even asking the elements of harmony for help, and nopony able to get through to them.
Ultimately, their sisters and their friends had told them they would have to wait until the group was ready to come to them about their cutie marks and left it at that.
With no other options, they went to find other ponies in need of their help.
The blank flanks showed a surprising amount of resolve in their plan.
Maybe it was Rumble’s remarkable leadership, or maybe it was just their fears of limiting themselves that terrified them, but the six ponies continued their efforts to not get their cutie marks by doing nothing.
Days turned to weeks, and then a few months when strange things started to happen.
First, a few of their parents reported that their kids had trouble telling time, then counting, then recognizing numbers all together. Then their vocabularies began to simplify, becoming less and less varied until their words became slurred and then just babble. Next came the rare nightly accidents that turned into the regular daily wettings and messings. Finally came the empty mindedness. The group of them no longer seemed to acknowledge anypony other then looking at them with a blank stare.
Of course their parents had been concerned at the beginning stages, bringing them to the hospital at the early signs and trying to see what was happening to their children. But no clear answers could be found other then it seeming to be caused by the filly and colts not doing anything. When told that they should stop doing such a thing to try and correct the problem, the doctors and their parents pleas fell on deaf and stubborn ears.
That had been a few years ago now. None of their parents had been in the position to take care of an overgrown foal, despite many of them trying at first. Many of the parents had stopped coming years ago, the pain of seeing their teenage ponies acting this way too hard to bare.
The CMC couldn’t stand idly by and let their former friends stay idly isolated in a hospital to be all but forgotten about. They felt a need to try and help, even if it seemed fruitless.
Today, the trio could see the group had a visitor looking in at them from outside.
It was none other than Kettle Corn, the only camper of camp Blank Flank to not fall victim to whatever had affected her friends.
The reason had been pretty obvious to everypony.
She was the only pony to have gotten her cutie mark before joining camp blank flank, and despite having covered it up, it was still there, showing that she had found her special talent that would lead her into adulthood and guide her to her calling.
She was in university in Manehattan now, top of her class in her studies in poetry.
Every time she came home to Ponyville on break, she would see her old friends, and that included her former fellow campers of camp blank flank.
“Hey Kettle Corn.” Said Sweetie Belle as the three approached her, each of them exchanging hugs.
“Any changes?” Asked Kettle Corn.
“Nothing that the doctors can see.” Said Apple Bloom.
Kettle Corn sighed.
“If it wasn’t for you three, I’d be stuck in their just like them. Completely as helpless as a newborn.” Said Kettle Corn.
“At least you figured it out for yourself. You learned what having a cutie mark means.” Said Scootaloo.
Kettle Corn nodded. “After I heard what was happening to them, I knew you three were right. I’ve gotten to do so many wonderful things since then, both with and without haikus. I just hope one day they’ll get to do some of those things.” She said as she went to leave.
The CMC turned and entered the overgrown nursery, making sure the door latched behind them.
Opening doors was a skill none of the overgrown foals possessed anymore, but that didn’t mean their mischievous baby brains wouldn’t wander out of an opened door given the chance.
The foals turned and looked at them as they entered, each giving them a vacant glance and turning back to whatever pointless task they were doing.
Rumble, Skeedaddle, Pipsqueak, Tulip Swirl, Cucumber Seed, and Mocha Berry. The campers of camp Blank Flank.
The room smelled of baby powder and dirty diapers, a few of the big baby’s diaper fronts were tinged yellow and Rumble was currently in the process of loading the seat of his, the pegasus pony making little grunts as horse apples were deposited into his awaiting diaper, the pegasus giggling happily at his dirty deed.
Rumble always messed his diaper when the CMC’s came to visit. They figured it was a small part of his brain that still recognized who they were and was trying to make their visit that much more unpleasant so they’d leave, but they had long since gotten use to it.
The CMC got to work, Apple Bloom taking a seat at the front in a rocking chair and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle dragging their friends across the floor into rough rows so that they could begin their lessons.
Obviously with their foalish minds there was very little the CMCs could do with the diaper wearing teens, but they could at least read to them kids books about ponies getting their cutie marks in the hope that something would sink in.
They would then try playing with them, trying to get them to complete the most basic of baby games correctly, like stacking rings or putting together a puzzle.
Like always though, they always seemed to reject completing the activity, simply content with taking a piece of the toy and jamming in their mouths or banging it on the floor.
It was exhausting and frustrating, but the CMC kept at it until lunch time came around.
Usually the nurses would feed and care for their friends, but when they were there, they felt it was important that they try to care for them.
After all their families never visited them anymore. They should have some kind of normal friends that tried to help them.
Today it was Scootaloo’s turn to put the big foals in their high chairs and bibs while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle handled diaper duty.
The three carried their friends up onto the tables, stripping off their dirty diapers and wiping their crotches and butts clean before powdering them and wrapping them snuggly in new padding.
Today, Sweetie was changing Rumble, Skeedaddle, and Tulip Swirl, while Apple Bloom changed Pipsqueak, Cucumber Seed, and Mocha Berry.
Each Crusader had their own favorite friend out of the bunch. For Apple Bloom, Pipsqueak was her favorite. He had always been so nice and friendly before all this happened, and even now gave her the least bit of trouble when she would change him. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t have a crush on him years ago, and as she ran a wipe over his length, she did wonder what might’ve been had things gone differently.
Sweetie Belle was having similar thoughts as she wiped down Skeedaddle, taking a little bit more care with him than the others. She had liked his enthusiasm when they were in school together, always being a go getter even if he might mess up or do something wrong.
She had been considering asking him on a date before he joined camp blank flank. Now instead of splitting a milkshake at Sugar Cube Corner, she was getting to know him intimately in an entirely different way.
With the six ponies now in clean diapers, they were each placed in their respective high chairs and bibs as the CMC spoon feed them mashed pees.
Scootaloo looked at Rumble as she made airplane sounds to get him to open his mouth.
He had been one of the best flyers in school, and very handsome.
She really liked him for a long time. Now he was just a big baby that had started all this, bringing his friends into an infantile mindscape with no way out in sight.
Feeding six teenage infants was no easy task, and much of the foal food ended up on the overgrown foals themselves, their bibs, their high chairs, and the CMCs. But eventually they were feed and cleaned up, free to lounge on the floor again in just their diapers and coy smiles.
After a few more attempts at activities and some stories the CMC’s said their goodbyes.
It had been another day of no progress seeming to be made, but that was ok. They would try again next week.
The CMC left the room, closing the door behind them and leaving the blank flanks alone once again, free to forever keep their flanks blank and their options open.
Options that only included mindless, foalish babble and thoughts as they loaded and soaked their diapers for the rest of time.
So ever filly and colt, remember the tale of the ponies that chose to be blank flanks forever, and head this warning.
Those ponies that choose to sit and do nothing forever will indeed fulfill a purpose in their lives.
Equestrian magic is the same for all.
For those that choose to do nothing all day, will revert to those whose purpose it is to have a blank flank.
Foals who sit content in their diapers all day, making with mindless play, as big ponies keep their worries and responsibilities far far away.
