Despite a somewhat bumpy ride, it took very little time for the Marestream to make its way from Zephyr Heights to Bridlewood. And once it did, Misty was dropped off as intended, before the flying machine took to the skies once again, bound for Maretime Bay.

It felt good to be back in Bridlewood. The forest seemed even more lively and enchanted than the unicorn mare with a beautiful blue coat had ever remembered it being. Yet as marvelous as it was, she could only take in the sights for a short time. She had wanted to come back to Bridlewood for a reason, there was something she wanted to ask from somepony important.

So Misty set off, her destination clear in mind. She just hoped her father wouldn't be so busy running his tea room.

Suddenly, there came the honking of a horn. And when Misty turned to look, who should she see coming up over the horizon but her fellow unicorn Izzy? The unicorn mare with a pretty pink coat and a curly blue mane and tail was driving her scooter that carried her crafting materials. Yet as soon as she saw Misty, she slammed on the brakes and made the scooter screech to a halt.

Izzy's eyes went wide upon seeing her fellow unicorn, and she happily threw her hooves around Misty in a powerful embrace! "Misty! What a nice surprise! I thought you were in Maretime Bay with Sunny and the rest of our friends."

Misty blinked slowly. "Well, I was. But I started thinking about some things, and decided to come to Bridlewood. There's something I want to ask my father. It's nagging my brain and it won't leave me alone."

"Hey, that works out for me!" Izzy cheerfully and chipperly replied. "I was just on my way to stop by the Crystal Tea Room to pick up some tea. With all the crafting projects I have to get done today, I don't have to stop, so I need my tea on the go. But I'm sure I can take a moment to drop you off with Alphabittle. Hop aboard, Misty." She floated over a spare helmet colored a faded shade of green.

Misty hesitantly accepted the helmet as she slowly stepped onto the scooter and grabbed hold of her fellow unicorn from behind. "T-try not to go too fast, Izzy." She pleaded with caution.

Izzy smiled. "I'll do my best, Misty. Now hold on tight!" Soon, she had started up her scooter again, and was zooming through the forest, weaving around the many dirt paths that cut right through it.

It took Misty a while to get used to the feeling of traveling at such a high rate of speed, all the while she did not loosen her grip on Izzy at all.

In a matter of just a few moments, the two unicorns screeched to a halt right outside the Crystal Tea Room, and Misty disembarked.

The unicycling unicorn smiled as she took back the spare helmet. "Well, here we are. Guess I'll see you around, Misty." And she prepared to step off the scooter as well.

It was then that Misty decided to ask. "Hey, Izzy, you said you were raised by my dad, right?"

The unicorn mare with a pretty pink coat blinked in surprise. "Yeah. And now I know why, I think I reminded him of you when you were a filly," She chuckled. "Boy did he learn the hard way how different we were. I mean, I didn't mean to give him a hard time. But I was just bursting with energy, and it had to be let out."

Misty fiddled with her bangs as she somewhat sheepishly asked. "Um... does that include when he had to potty train you?"

Izzy blinked once again and simply asked. "Why are you asking me?"

The unicorn mare with a beautiful blue coat explained. "W-well, I've been thinking about it a lot recently. I mean... Hitch is working on getting Sparky fully potty trained again."

Izzy smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Of course I know about that, I'm Sparky's dragonsitter. There's practically nothing I don't know about him."

Misty continued, still somewhat bashful and withdrawn. "Y-yeah. So, from there, I started thinking about it more and started talking to our other friends about their potty training. And... I'm curious. You're the only one I don't know about."

At that, Izzy seemed to blush ever so faintly. "Oh, you wanna know, huh?" She put a hoof to her chin. "Well, I guess I can tell you. I mean, you're right that I was very jumpy and full of energy when Alphabittle first tried teaching me." And she began to reflect back to that very occasion in her youth, to one of the more "joyful" memories of her childhood.

Alphabittle sighed deeply as he pushed open the door to Izzy's bedroom. He'd been putting this off for long enough, the time had come for him to do what he'd once had to do for his daughter (whom he still held out hope was out there somewhere, and would come back to him someday). Yet in the back of his mind he was thinking. "I hope Izzy doesn't hate me for this. I know she seems to really enjoy her diapers. But she can't stay in them forever. She'll be the only unicorn left in the whole forest who does if I don't get her out of them now."

Izzy, for her part, was just playing with her toys in an absentminded fashion. She had no idea her life was about to change forever and that she was going to undergo a major development.

The tall, bulky stallion trotted over to Izzy, sniffing the air as he did so. He was relieved when no smelly smells that smelled smelly greeted his nostrils. Izzy's diaper was dry and clean, for now. That meant it was all the more imperative he start teaching her how to give up such padded undergarments for good. He had gone down this road once before and it hadn't been so bad. Hopefully, with the experience he could still draw upon, things would be just as smooth as last time. "Hey, kid." He greeted Izzy in a very blunt tone of voice.

Izzy spun around, locking eyes with the stallion who had so kindly taken her in when she'd had nowhere to go. He insisted he wasn't her father, but that didn't stop her from looking up to him as a father figure. "Hiya Mr. Alphabittle!" She greeted with a swish of her tail and an exceptionally bright smile as she all but bounced over to him. "What are you doing in my bedroom?" She asked in a briefly nervous tone of voice. "Am I in trouble again?"

Alphabittle chuckled ever so faintly, patting the little filly on the forehead. "No, you're not in any trouble. But there is something we need to talk about. It's something very important, and something that everypony your age goes through."

"What would that be?" The unicorn filly pondered. She seemed to have no clue what the stallion was saying.

"Well..." Alphabittle began, before pausing and hesitating for a moment as he tried to summon up the courage needed. "It's about your diapers. Or rather, about getting out of them."

At that the filly's ears fell flat, causing her joyful mood to deflate. "What? But I like my diapers."

"I know you do, kid," The tall, bulky stallion replied as he took hold of Izzy by the tail, preventing her from trying to run away. "But everypony has to give them up eventually. So it's time you learned how big ponies go to the bathroom. Come on, I'll show you what I mean." He quickly dragged her away, doing his best not to look at the sorrowful, pleading look she was shooting him.

Soon, the two unicorns reached an isolated and mostly walled off section of the Crystal Tea Room. It wasn't anything fancy, and in fact it appeared to be very dimly lit. Only a few faint rays of sunlight pierced through the windows to light up the place. And within the room was what could best be described as a series of elevated trenches surrounded by white squares, and a colored tile nearby.

Alphabittle brought Izzy before one of the trenches and pulled down her diaper, then tossed it aside. "Alright, here we are. It's time to learn about the potty," He said in the best parental tone of voice he could muster up. "It's really easy: Just stand over the opening and relax. When you're done," He gestured to a nearby nozzle of some sort. "You can use that to clean yourself. And then you just press on that pedal," He pointed to the colored tile. "And everything disappears."

Izzy trotted over to the trench, eyeing it suspiciously as she peered down at the water flowing underneath it. "Am I supposed to use that?" She questioned.

Alphabittle nodded. "Yup. It's what all grown ponies use instead of diapers. You should be thankful they exist. I remember that when I was your age, we mostly still relied on chamber pots and open pits. Toilets are far more sanitary."

"So, I just stand there until I... go?" Izzy questioned.

The stallion nodded. "Yes, of course. Or at least, until I say you can move. Go ahead, just try."

"Nu-uh!" The unicorn filly protested as she stuck out her tongue! "I'm not gonna do it! The potty is stupid!" As she spoke this, she didn't realize she had dipped her tail into the bowl. And then, as she tried to move forward, she unintentionally stepped onto the colored tile in front of her.

There was a loud noise, and then Izzy felt her tail growing wet as some kind of unseen force pulled on it! Try as she might, she couldn't break free of its grasp! "Help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs! "It's trying to eat me!"

"Don't be ridiculous, toilets can't eat ponies. There's no such thing," Alphabittle replied as he trotted over and effortlessly pulled Izzy's tail free. "Guess I should've warned you about keeping your tail lifted. And now you know why."

Izzy, meanwhile, found herself fascinated by the waters underneath her. They swirled and sloshed around within the trench, then suddenly disappeared and then returned. And when they did, the loud noise stopped. "What was that, Mr. Alphabittle?" She asked her father figure.

The unicorn stallion quickly explained. "That was just the flush, Izzy. It's how the toilet cleans and empties itself. It's pretty cool, isn't it? Almost like ma..." He quickly threw a hoof over his mouth to stop himself.

"Like what?" Izzy pondered.

Alphabittle quickly recovered, coughing into a hoof. "Er... nothing... nothing you need to know about. It's not anything you're supposed to say anyway," And he instead tried to change the subject. "A-anyway, now that you know how it works, I want you to use it from now on whenever you have to go number one or number two. I'm not buying you any more diapers, they're expensive and you're too old to still be wearing them!"

The unicorn filly whimpered a bit. "Really?"

Alphabittle slowly nodded. "I'm afraid so, Izzy. But as long as you're good about using the potty, you won't have to wear anything."

That made the filly's ears perk up as she excitedly exclaimed! "Oh goodie!" And she happily ran out of the bathroom, chanting again and again! "I get to be naked! I get to be naked!"

"Izzy, come back!" Alphabittle shouted as he ran after his charge! "I didn't say you could leave yet!"

As the memories faded, Izzy giggled. "Oh, those were the days, I can tell you. My potty training from there didn't always go smoothly. But it was still lots of fun, at least for me."

"Guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find out that's how it would've gone with you," Misty commented. "I hope you at least apologized to my dad at some point for causing him so much grief."

Izzy nodded. "Yeah, I did once I was fully trained. And I can safely say that if it wasn't for Alphabittle, I don't think I ever would've even bothered to potty train, let alone master it. I always wondered why he put up with me after everything I ever said or did," Turning to Misty, she then smiled. "But since meeting you and finding out you were his daughter, it all makes sense. In a way, we both got what we needed most: Alphabittle had me to help him find joy and happiness in his laugh again, at least for a while. And I got to have somepony to help me grow up, even if he couldn't take away what made me me."

The unicorn mare with a beautiful blue coat replied. "Well, that's actually why I wanted to see him again and talk to him."

"Oh, you're thinking about your own training?" Izzy questioned.

Misty nodded back. "Yes. And I just can't seem to recall it. So I'm hoping he can help me with that. As long as he's not too busy."

The pretty pink unicorn mare with a curly blue mane and tail chuckled as she led Misty into the tea room proper. "Hey, since when does Alphabittle not have time for you? You always have time for family, no matter when that may be."

And as the two unicorn mares entered the tea room, there was Alphabittle himself at the counter, wiping it down with a rag whilst using his magic to prepare cups of tea for his thirsty patrons (what few there seemed to be at the moment). He looked up in time to see Misty and Izzy approaching him, and smiled as he then levitated over a steaming cup to Izzy. "Here you are, kid," He cheerfully greeted. "Made it just like you always wanted it."

Izzy happily accepted the tea and deposited the money to pay for it on the counter. "Thanks, Alphabittle! See you later!" She replied as she then all but bounced away, soon disappearing from sight.

Alphabittle then turned his attention to his daughter. "Misty-Wisty!" He exclaimed, throwing his hooves around her! "I'm glad you've come back, kid! I've missed you so much!"

"Yeah... well, I've been busy. But I'm sure you already know about all of that." Misty replied as she let her father hug her. This time around it felt warm and natural rather than awkward and uncomfortable.

Once the hug ended, the bulky stallion smiled brightly. "So what are you doing back in Bridlewood? I thought you were living in Maretime Bay with Izzy and the rest of your friends, or did you change your mind?"

The unicorn mare with a beautiful blue coat shook her head from side to side. "No, Dad, that's not why I came here. Maretime Bay's still my home, and I don't see that changing anytime soon," She then cleared her throat, trying to think of how best to explain the reason for her unannounced visit. "Um... can I... ask you something?"

Suspecting nothing, Alphabittle happily nodded. "Of course, Misty. What did you want to ask?"

Misty swallowed hard and tried to whisper. "It's about my past, or rather... my potty training."

At that the stallion blinked rapidly. To say he was surprised by such a question would be an understatement. "Why do you want to know about that, Misty? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Misty admitted. "It's just... well... I've been thinking about it a lot today. And... it got me thinking about what you must've had to go through with me. You don't have to answer if you'd rather not talk about it."

But Alphabittle firmly replied. "Misty, I'll always have time for you no matter what it may be you want to discuss. If you really want to know, I can tell you. All the memories I have of you as a filly are burned into my mind, there was no way I could forget them after what happened," He got up from the counter and floated over a sign that read "Out to lunch" as he then trotted over to his daughter. "Come on, let's go somewhere where we won't be overhead. And then I'll tell you what you want to know." Already, he was thinking back in his mind to that time with Misty. A time when everything in his life had seemed to be nothing but happy.

"Okay, Misty-Wisty," Alphabittle cooed one day as he held his toddler daughter gently within his hooves and carried her through the Crystal Tea Room (currently not yet open for business). "I think you're ready for it. Today's the day you go from being daddy's little girl to being daddy's big girl. And that means it's time you learned how to use the same thing all ponies learn how to use eventually."

Misty, for her part, just smiled and looked up at her father. He was never wrong about anything. So if he felt that what was going to happen was something to be excited and happy about, then she would be excited and happy just like he was.

The unicorn stallion soon brought his daughter into a room lined with slightly elevated trenches that had running water flowing underneath them, and were connected to sets of gleaming silver pipes. Near them rested colored tiles, and nozzle-like contraptions that looked like they could be pulled out of the ground. To Alphabittle, he had seen such things several times before. But to his daughter, everything was strange and wondrous. It was someplace new and exciting.

Alphabittle then gingerly set his toddler daughter upon the floor, making sure to keep his eyes locked onto hers so that he commanded her full attention. "Here we are, my little pony," He cooed once again. "This is where your ticket to being a big pony awaits. And it starts by getting rid of your diaper, or at least just taking it off." He then fit words to actions by carefully removing and setting aside the aforementioned padded undergarment.

Misty shivered a bit at the sensation of her newly exposed bare bottom. "What do I do, Daddy?" She asked her father.

The bulky stallion instructed. "It's really simple, Misty. Just do what I say and you'll be fine, I promise," Clearing his throat, he continued. "Now, you see those trenches over there?" When his daughter nodded, he explained. "Those are toilets. And now that you're at least two and a half years old, you need to start using them."

The unicorn filly waddled her way towards one of the aforementioned toilets, eyeing it with hesitation and uncertainty. "How do I use them?" She pondered.

Alphabittle smiled. "It's really easy: You just gotta stand over them and keep your tail raised so it doesn't fall into the bowl. Then you just do what you would do in your diapers, except without the diaper on. Do you get it?"

The toddler unicorn tried to waddle into position as best she could. It was not an easy task given the way the tiled floors felt on her hooves. Yet somehow, she managed. And lifted up her tail just as her father had told her to. "Now what, Daddy?"

"Just get comfortable, Misty. And if you have to do anything, do it," Alphabittle encouraged as he stood off to one side. "I know you can do it! And I'll be right here this whole time if you need help."

So Misty stood there and waited. She wasn't sure if she actually needed to do anything, but for her father's sake she would try. Of course, just standing in one place was not very fun. But it was something her father and other ponies apparently could do without a problem, and she wanted to be just like him. So she stood there and didn't make a fuss. Until finally, she heard a faint hissing sound and heard something tinkling into the trench beneath her. "I... I did it, Daddy!" She cheered!

Alphabittle smiled, showering his daughter with praise! "I knew you could, Misty! See how easy that was? Now you just gotta keep doing that. And remember how that felt."

The unicorn filly happily replied. "Uh-uh, Daddy. I'll always remember."

"And from that onward, you were a pottying pro," Alphabittle told Misty as the flashback ended, the two unicorns now standing alone in the bedroom that had once belonged to Misty as a filly. "Well, as much of a pro as anypony can be. There were still a few mishaps and missteps along the way. But you and I handled them just fine."

"Guess maybe that's why I don't really remember it all that well," Misty commented as she took in the information. "It was so uneventful compared to what my friends all went through."

Alphabittle nodded. "Yeah. One of the benefits of raising Izzy and having to potty train her was that I got to realize how easy I had it with you," He then sighed and lamented. "Which made it all the more difficult when I lost you for what seemed like forever," He shut his eyes, shuddering. "I don't know what would've happened to me if Izzy and I hadn't met when we did and I'd taken her in."

Misty reached a hoof to comfort her father. "It's okay, Dad. It wasn't your fault what happened. And I'm here now."

"I know, Misty. I know," Alphabittle said slowly as he opened his eyes again. "Even so, I never got to see you grow up. And to hear that you had to spend the rest of your childhood and some of your early adult years in the care of somepony who didn't actually care about you at all, it's a lot to process. I only wish I could've gotten my hooves on that Opaline myself, 'cause there's a lot I'd have wanted her to answer for."

"She's gone now, she's never coming back," The unicorn mare with a beautiful blue coat replied. "She thought she could keep me locked away and that somehow that would make me want to be her friend. But she was wrong. She never understood friendship or what it means to be a friend. If she'd really cared about me, she wouldn't have kept me as her prisoner. I get the feeling that she only provided the basics for me because she felt she had to, not because she wanted to."

The bulky stallion sighed. "Yeah. I guess I should be grateful for all of that, not that it excuses anything else she said or did."

Misty blushed. "Well, there was one nice thing she did for me. It was actually right after she found me and basically took me in. And before she did whatever it was she did that made me forget about you, about a time before her."

"Oh, what would that be?" The unicorn stallion questioned.

Misty shut her eyes, recalling a memory long since passed and one that had buried its way deep inside her subconscious.

It hadn't been more than an hour or two since Misty had found herself being forcibly taken in by Opaline. The fire alicorn had been quite insistent on claiming Misty as her own, despite the objections of the child that she had a family she wanted to go back to.

"You're so lucky to have found me, Misty," Opaline said with a sinister smile. "Don't worry, I'll take such good care of you that you'll never want to leave. Then everypony will see just how much I really know about friendship. With a friend of my own, I'll finally prove that Twilight Sparkle wrong."

Misty just whimpered and shook with fright. This strange and tall pony was so scary looking, and her tone of voice did nothing to reassure the frightened child.

The fire alicorn soon led Misty up a winding staircase and opened a door that led to a small, cramped room that had seen better days. "You can stay here. This shall be your bedroom, Misty. And if you ever need anything, you need only to ask of me: The Great and Powerful Opaline. Just know that I can't go outside the confines of my castle too often. I must conserve what little power is available to me. If anything happened to me, you would be on your own again. And we both know you wouldn't last a minute out there."

Still, the frightened filly said nothing.

Opaline snarled, her eyes narrowing and her teeth gritting with rage. "Oh come on! Don't be silent with me! I'm your friend now, Misty! And I can't be a good friend to you if you won't tell me how I can help you! So speak up! How can I make you feel more at home so that we can get to know each other better?!"

The unicorn filly with a still beautiful blue coat whimpered anew, before an all too familiar sensation became known to her. "M-Miss O-Opaline?" She nervously and hesitantly asked, struggling to even look the fire alicorn in the eyes.

"Just Opaline," Opaline corrected. "Now what is it?"

Misty swallowed hard. "I... I have to go potty." And she crossed her back legs in demonstration of this growing urge.

Opaline's eyes nearly went wide! "What?!"

The filly apologized and shrank from Opaline's harsh gaze. "I... I'm sorry. It's just... I'm scared, and... well... you know..."

Sighing and groaning, Opaline approached Misty. "Oh, very well. Come with me, Misty. I do have a bathroom. It's not anything fancy, but it should suffice for you to take care of your bodily need," Yet she then warned in a harsh, unforgiving tone. "And if you dare do anything on my floors, you will be punished severely. Do I make myself clear?!"

"Y-yes, Opaline! I'll... try to hold it!" The unicorn filly promised as she uncrossed her legs and let Opaline take hold of her by the hoof.

The two ponies trotted their way back down the stairs and through the castle, until finally detouring down a dark hallway that appeared to lead to a small, tucked away room in one corner of the castle. Inside, it was possible to see a lone toilet similar to the ones Misty recalled seeing in her home. There was even the flush pedal and the shower-like nozzle for cleaning up.

"Go on! Do what you have to do!" Opaline commanded. "And know that from now, I expect you to be able to take care of your needs yourself. You seem old enough to know how to do this without help."

"Y-yes! I'll be quick! T-thank you!" Misty stammered as she raced into the bathroom and hastily shut the door behind her. It thankfully took her only a minute or so to take care of her urgent need and clean up.

"I only learned about the newer toilets after I started spying for Opaline," Misty explained to her father as her recollection ended. "It was quite a shock the first time I saw one. But I managed to figure it out with only a little bit of trouble. Even Opaline seemed impressed by it, not that it made her change anything about the bathroom in her castle. Still, it's probably the nicest thing she ever did for me, not that that's saying much."

"So I can see." Alphabittle commented, but couldn't bring himself to say anything more.

Misty blushed. "Yeah. It's been kind of weird to think about it all day. But at least now I know."

Alphabittle smiled. "Well, if you ever want to know about or discuss anything else about your past, you can always come back and see me again," He then turned away. "But I think I should get back to the tea room and to my customers. You can stay with me if you'd like. I'm sure your friends will understand."

As tempted as she was by the offer, the unicorn mare insisted. "Thanks, Dad, but I'm probably gonna be going back to Maretime Bay with Izzy."

Alphabittle nodded. "Had a feeling you would say that, Misty," He paused and wiped a lone tear from his eyes. "It's amazing to me how fast time flies. It feels like only yesterday you were born, and I was bringing you home for the first time. And now, look at you. You've grown up so fast."

"Dad, you know I'll always be your filly no matter what," Misty insisted as she trotted over and hugged him. "I'm glad I found out and remembered you. And now that Opaline's gone, hopefully we'll have more time to spend together catching up."

Author's Note

Given that it doesn't seem like Bridlewood has electricity (aside from one or two occasions), it would seem to me that their plumbing fixtures would not be as modern as either Maretime Bay's or Zephyr Height's. And Opaline's castle wouldn't be any different.