Year of the Potty (Starlight Glimmer)
A young Starlight Glimmer sucked on her hoof, clutching her cherished teddy bear in the other hoof as she stood on the floor of her house and right outside the door of the bathroom. Her father, Firelight, had told her that today was the start of something big for her. A development that she would remember for years to come.
The little unicorn didn’t know what that meant, nor did she care. The bathroom was a place that was both exciting and scary to her. Exciting because there were so many strange devices that she had never seen anywhere else and because it seemed to be where her father was if he wasn’t tending to her or at work (which was surprisingly often. She had never seen her mother and was often left in the care of Stellar Flare, the mother of the only foal she knew besides herself, Sunburst). Scary because it made some rather strange, loud sounds that to her young mind were the sounds of monsters.
But her dad always said there was no such thing as monsters and her dad was always right. So Starlight assumed that the noises were not monsters, though what they were she didn’t know.
Firelight looked down at his toddler daughter. He’d been putting off this important process for a long time even though he knew he’d have to make an attempt sooner or later. Stellar Flare had pretty much nagged at him nonstop to start it. And after a lot of resistance he had reluctantly conceded. The time had come for his daughter to graduate from diapers.
Standing outside the bathroom door, Firelight took a deep breath to steady his nerves before he spoke. “Starlight, you’re getting to be a big girl now. Almost three years old.”
“Me know, Daddy!” Starlight happily replied. “Me can walk, talk, and count to five.”
Firelight felt a tug at his heart strings as he heard his daughter’s sweet voice. “I hope she doesn’t hate me for this. But I can’t avoid it forever. If I don’t start the process soon, she’ll never get out of diapers.” He thought and tried not to look guilty. As much as he might like that for his precious little daughter, he knew it would not look good to do so. Neighbors would take notice and start to ask questions, his daughter would grow up teased and bullied for still being in the padded undergarments after everypony around her no longer needed them. Like it or not, he had to get her out of them.
And that meant it was time to teach her how grown ponies answered nature’s call. “Yes, honey bun. You’re very smart for your age,” Firelight declared as he stroked his daughter’s mane with a hoof. “Which is why I think it’s time that you started learning how to use…” He paused in his speech briefly to open the bathroom door and usher his daughter inside, gesturing to the toilet. “The big girl potty.”
Starlight blinked, eyeing the massive white bowl shaped object. She had briefly glanced at it before but had never given it a second thought. Now, however, she had a vague idea of what it was. And apparently she was expected to use it and not her diapers. Something that didn’t sit well at all with the little filly, especially considering how big it looked. It seemed to tower over her and just looking at it unnerved her. “Me have to use that?” She asked her father as she hoped he was joking.
He wasn’t. “Of course, honey bun. Everypony uses it sooner or later,” Firelight explained. “Even mommies and daddies. I know it looks big and scary, but I assure you the potty can’t hurt you. I promise.”
Starlight reluctantly waddled closer to the toilet, standing near the bowl and peering all around. She didn’t really wanna look up at it. In fact, the more she looked at it the more she was sure she wanted nothing to do with the porcelain contraption. “No use potty! Potty stupid!” The filly remarked as she stuck out her tongue. Diapers were far more preferable, they were less of a hassle to use and a much safer option as far as the little unicorn was concerned.
She tried to make a break from the bathroom and run away, but she didn’t get far before her dad lit up his horn and pulled her close to him with his magic. “Slow down, honey bun. You don’t think you’re gonna go away that easily, do you?” He proceeded to coax his daughter back towards the toilet. “You don’t really wanna be in diapers forever, do you?”
“Uh-huh, me wanna stay in diapees!” Starlight declared even as she was powerless to resist her father’s superior magical abilities.
Firelight chuckled at this juvenile act of defiance. He remembered going through the same thing with his parents when he was Starlight’s age (though back when he was growing up they didn’t have flush toilets like the throne one his wife had installed). “Come on, sweet pea. There’s nothing to be scared of. Using the potty can be fun, and just think of all the freedom you’ll have once you’re out of diapers,” When his daughter was before the toilet again he cleared his throat. “Now here’s how it works. It’s easy. All you need do is take off your diaper, sit down right here,” He put a hoof on the curved toilet seat. “And then you just…” He paused in his explanation as the stallion realized some details probably weren’t worth discussing with a toddler.
Starlight seemed to get what her father was implying though. She was a pretty smart three year old, after all. Putting two and two together she understood what was going to be expected of her if she used this “potty”. “Ew, yuck!” She gagged. Why would anypony want to do such a thing? Far more effort than just going in a diaper, and far more smelly (at least that’s what she thought).
Firelight blushed. “Yes, I know it’s not exactly the most appealing thing in the world, but everypony does it. And Daddy’s getting tired of changing your dirty diapers, which is why he’s teaching you about the potty,” He coughed into a hoof. “So anyway after you’ve er… done your business, you just clean up by using some toilet paper,” He pulled a couple of rolls of the aforementioned paper from a holder nearby. “Just use them the same way Daddy uses wipes to clean you up when he changes your diapers. Then you put the used rolls in the potty, and then you flush. Just like this.” He surrounded a gleaming silver handle that rested on the tank to the right hoof side of the toilet and pulled it down.
A mighty roar rang out as the water in the toilet bowl spun around and around and went down the drain and refilled. A frightened Starlight ran and hid behind her dad’s legs for comfort! “Too loud!” She whined.
“I know it’s loud. It’s okay, you’ll get used to it.” Firelight tried to reassure his frightened daughter.
But Starlight bolted and tried to run away again! The results were the same as last time though, a glow of her father’s horn and she was stopped right in her tracks.
“Come on, sweetie. Why don’t you give it a try?” Firelight encouraged his daughter, floating her close to the handle. “Go ahead and flush the potty.”
“Nu-uh, no wanna flush. Too loud!” Starlight whined in protest.
Firelight gently coaxed his daughter. “Come on? Just this once, for Daddy?” He proceeded to break out the best pair of pleading, puppy dog eyes he could manage under the circumstances.
Try as she might, Starlight wasn’t able to resist that look. If one flush would satisfy her dad she would reluctantly do it. She pushed down the handle with her tiny hooves, and the roar was heard once again! However, as she was now hovering directly over the toilet bowl, the little filly’s eyes were drawn to something that she hadn’t been able to see before. The water in the toilet bowl was swirling, spinning around. Then it all suddenly swirled down the drain, disappearing. “Water go down da hole!” She exclaimed with amazement.
“Yes, and look, sweetie!” Firelight encouraged.
Starlight did so, seeing the water slowly fill up the toilet bowl from the bottom. “Water came back!” She giggled and gurgled, promptly chanting over and over again. “Water go down da hole! Water came back!”
Firelight set his eager foal on the floor next to the toilet. The little demonstration had worked better than he could’ve hoped for. “See, the potty’s great, isn’t it?” He asked his daughter who nodded. “Well, good. Now that you like it how about we-” But his sentence was cut off as he heard a knock at the front door. “Oh, who could that be?” He wondered aloud, before he looked at his excited young daughter. “What do you think, sweetie? Do you want to try and use the big girl potty all on your own?”
“Uh-huh!” Starlight happily nodded.
“Okay then, honey-bun. Just come get me if you need help. Remember to use the toilet paper, and be sure to take off your diaper before you use the potty.” Firelight instructed and left the bathroom, leaving his daughter unattended.
Now alone in the bathroom, Starlight turned her attention back to the toilet. She grinned. “Flush the potty!” She said to herself and surrounded the handle with her magic. It took a great deal of effort but she was able to pull the handle down, producing the loud roar that signaled the start of the flush cycle. “Water go down da hole! Water came back!” She declared without even looking inside the toilet bowl.
But just flushing the toilet with nothing in it seemed boring. The little filly quickly found a way to resolve that, however. Her dad had said to “use” the toilet paper. And since using it meant putting it in the toilet to flush, she decided that was what she would do. She pulled a few rolls off and dropped them into the toilet bowl with her magic. “Toiwet pater go down da hole!” The foal declared as she pulled the toilet handle with her magic. “Toiwet pater came back!” She cheered without looking into the toilet bowl to see if she was right. Eventually she decided to do so, but after scrambling up onto the toilet seat she saw that the toilet paper had vanished, it had not come back with the water. “Toiwet pater? Where toiwet pater go?” She wondered aloud. The foal inspected every aspect of the toilet to find an answer, but she couldn’t find anything. It seemed that when the toilet flushed, the toilet paper had for whatever reason not returned.
However that did not bother the young unicorn, it was just toilet paper and there was still plenty of it. But what else could the toilet make disappear? An idea quickly came to the young one’s mind as she looked down at her diaper. Her father had said she wouldn’t need it now that she was supposed to use the potty. So why not get rid of it for her father?
A series of shimmies caused the thick padding to drop to the foal’s knees, and she kicked it off and placed it into the toilet bowl. “Diapee go down da hole!” She declared, before pushing down the handle again. This time she watched as her padding (swelled up with toilet water) swirled around in the rapidly draining waters, then disappeared down the drain. The water refilled a moment later, but her diaper was gone.
Starlight was thrilled! How had she not known about such a wonderful thing before?! It was the perfect disposal device, great for getting rid of anything she wanted! And if her diaper could fit down it, well there was no stopping her from finding out what else she could flush. She hopped down from the toilet seat, picking up her teddy bear from where she had left it resting on the tiled floor. “Teddy go down da hole!” She declared, tossing the stuffed animal into the toilet and flushed it. Then she watched her teddy bear spin around and around. “Teddy go bye bye!” She added, as her teddy bear disappeared down the drain. Next, she grabbed a rubber ducky from the edge of the bathtub and threw it into the toilet bowl. “Rubber ducky go down da hole! Bye bye, ducky!” She declared, flushing the toilet and watching as the rubber duck squeaked and rapidly plunged down the drain. Then the foal grabbed a toy boat, and flushed it down the toilet as well. “Boat go down da hole! Bye bye!” She waved to the bath toy as it too was sucked down the drain.
But after the boat had been flushed the toilet suddenly made a strange gurgling sound. Without warning the water rose beyond its normal level, spilling out of the toilet bowl and onto the floor. Starlight was puzzled by this and jiggled the handle, trying to get the toilet to flush. But it wouldn’t, it seemed like something was preventing it from doing so.
“Potty sick!” Starlight gasped with fright! “Me gotta make potty feel better!” She didn’t want to hop down onto the wet floor though, it looked slippery.
Suddenly, the foal noticed something sticking up in the overflowing toilet bowl. Immediately her eyes fell upon the toy boat that she had just been flushed. She carefully waddled close and pulled it out. “Boat came back!” She happily cheered, tossing it aside. But the water didn’t retreat, the toilet was still overflowing. Something else was causing the blockage.
The little unicorn soon noticed the rubber ducky from earlier, and like with the toy bot she pulled it out while declaring. “Rubber ducky came back!” The water level didn’t decrease though, the toilet was still overflowing. So the rubber ducky wasn’t the cause of the blockage. And neither was the next object the foal retrieved from the toilet bowl, her teddy bear. “Teddy came back! Teddy not go bye bye!” She cheered, now regretting her decision to flush it. She put it on the ground next to the toy boat and the rubber ducky.
Still the toilet refused to flush, the water in the toilet bowl continued to overflow. But Starlight couldn’t see anything else inside the toilet bowl that could be blocking it. So what was wrong?
As the foal thought and thought about this, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. It appeared to be resting way down in the toilet bowl though and there was no way she could hope to pull it out with her hooves. She tried to grab at the object with her magic, but alas her earlier flushing spree had depleted every last ounce of magical energy she had in her horn. So there was only one thing to do to fix the toilet. Without even thinking for a moment, Starlight jumped into the toilet bowl where she landed with a splash. It was just water, she’d be okay.
The little filly spotted the obstruction directly below her, she took a deep breath and dove down as best as she could to grab it. A couple of tugs was all it took to fish out the object, her diaper now thoroughly soaked with toilet water. “Diapee, ya came back!” She cheered, hugging the padding briefly before she tossed it out to join the other objects she’d retrieved.
But at that very moment the toilet roared to life again! Starlight didn’t have time to react as she felt a powerful suction take hold of her, rapidly spinning her around and around until she couldn’t see straight! Realization set in as the foal continued to spin helplessly about! “Uh-oh, I going down da hole!” She declared, and it was the last thing she said before the water in the toilet bowl receded, taking her with it on its downward journey! The frightened foal held her breath as she was sucked tail first down the drain! The toilet bowl than refilled to it’s normal level. But there was no trace of Starlight Glimmer anywhere!
Firelight was making his way back to the bathroom at that very moment, having finally finished talking with his visitor (who had turned out to be none other than Stellar Flare herself). As he got closer he could’ve sworn he heard strange sounds and a frightened cry, but by the time he reached the bathroom the noise had vanished.
The stallion trotted inside, and nearly slipped the moment his hooves touched the soaking wet floor! “The toilet must’ve overflowed again,” He thought to himself. “I swear, those new flush toilet throne models are more trouble than they’re worth. Always clogging up or overflowing. I have half a mind to dismantle every last flush toilet I lay eyes on. Things worked much better when everypony just used chamber pots. I still have my antique model, and it works just fine. No clogs, no spills, no fuss.”
Oh well, that was a concern for a different day and time. Right now he had to deal with the soaked tiles and anything that touched them. The bathroom was going to need a thorough cleaning.
And it seemed there was no trace of Starlight anywhere. No doubt she had caused the toilet to overflow somehow, probably from flushing too much. Firelight shook his head. “I really need to watch what my little filly eats.” He thought again, before noticing a series of waterlogged items near the toilet: A toy boat, a rubber ducky, a teddy bear, and a diaper that had swelled up considerably with toilet water. Yet there was still no sign of Starlight.
Firelight started to grow a little worried. Maybe his daughter had tried to flush all those things down the toilet and had thus caused it to overflow, and now she was hiding to avoid facing him. “Honey bun?” He called out while trying to keep a calm tone of voice. “It’s okay, you don’t have to hide. Daddy knows you didn’t mean to overflow the toilet. Daddy promises he’s not mad with you.”
There was still no reply, which only made Firelight even more nervous. It wasn’t like his daughter not to speak up when he called her. “Starlight, sweetie?” He called again. “Hello?”
The stallion heard what sounded like a garbled cry, almost like a plea for help. And it sounded like it was coming from the toilet. The toilet! Immediately, a thousand horrible images flashed in Firelight’s mind! Everything suddenly made sense: The constant flushing, the water logged items, the overflowing toilet, the absence of his daughter. They all pointed to one conclusion. Somehow, his daughter had been flushed down the toilet!
Hoping he was wrong, Firelight ran to the toilet and peered down into the bowl to the point where his head was almost submerged in the water. To the drain he called again. “Starlight, can you hear me?! It’s me, Daddy!”
The garbled cry was heard again and a series of air bubbles briefly appeared above the drain. That left no doubt in the stallion’s mind about the whereabouts of his daughter! His worst fears were realized, his daughter had indeed gotten flushed down the toilet! Fortunately, she hadn’t been swept into the sewers yet. But Firelight feared that if he didn’t act soon, that’s what would happen!
He ran to grab a plunger! “Hold on, sweetheart, Daddy’s coming!” He declared as he put the rubber end of the plunger into the toilet bowl and started pushing up and down! It was a lot of hard work, the stallion kept on plunging even though he only seemed to succeed in splashing more water out of the toilet bowl! “Come on! Come on!” He pleaded to himself as his body began to break into a nervous sweat!
At last, Firelight was rewarded for his efforts as he felt the rubber end of the plunger connect with something! Something that subsequently ended up attached to said rubber end! Hoping for the best and fearing the worst, Firelight yanked hard on the plunger as he pulled it up!
With a pop, a water logged Starlight emerged from the toilet, clinging tightly to the rubber end of the plunger as it was lifted out of the toilet bowl! She didn’t let go until her father used his magic to gently free her and set her down on the floor.
The little filly was visibly shaking, her entire body dripped with toilet water, and she sneezed. “That was scary, Daddy!” She whimpered in fright. “I go down da hole!”
Firelight breathed a sigh of relief as he reassured his daughter. “Yes, but thanks to Daddy you came back.”
“Yeah! I go down da hole, and Daddy make me come back! Daddy save me! Daddy my hero!” Starlight declared as she leaped up and hugged her dad. Never in all her life was she so happy to see him.
Firelight nodded, even as he carefully set his daughter down and lightly scolded her. “Starlight, you almost gave your old stallion a heart attack. I’m sure you didn’t mean to flush yourself, but you still flooded the toilet and made a mess. I told you to come get me if you needed help.”
“I sorry, Daddy.” Starlight apologized and whimpered.
Firelight sighed. He knew he couldn’t be too upset with his daughter, after all it had been his idea to teach her how to flush and then leave her unattended in the bathroom. Even though he hadn’t anticipated being gone for so long, he should’ve known better than to make such an obvious parenting no-no. His daughter could’ve not only ended up in the sewers, but she could’ve also drowned. She was the only thing he had left to remind him of his wife, and now he realized that he needed to be much more careful with her. He couldn’t depend on Stellar Flare to do all the parenting for him. “Well, at least now you know to be more careful around the big girl potty. And that you shouldn’t flush things that aren’t meant to be flushed. The only things you can flush are toilet paper, and what you do in your diapers.”
“Me still have to wear diapees?” Starlight blinked in surprise.
“For now, I think it’s best if we leave the big girl potty alone. Clearly, you’re not ready for it,” Firelight told his daughter. “But I do think the time has come for you to get out of diapers.”
“But if me not use potty or diapees, what me gonna use?” Starlight questioned her father.
Firelight replied with a wink. “Something much safer and much more reliable than a flush toilet. A chamber pot. I’ll let you pick out your own antique one to use, and we’ll start training you to go on it.”
“Does it flush?” The foal asked her father.
“No it doesn’t, but we can empty it into the potty when you’re done. As long as you promise only to flush it when a grown-up is around to help you,” Firelight insisted. “I don’t wanna risk another close call.”
Realizing how concerned her father had been after she had gone down the drain, the little filly decided it was best to accept his terms. Maybe when she was older, she would be big enough to tackle the big girl potty again. And maybe then she would know how to use it properly. Until then, chamber pot usage would have to do. “Okay, Daddy, me agree. No use big girl potty, no flush without grown-up.”
Firelight nodded. “Good, I’m glad we agree,” Then he added. “Now, you need a bath. I don’t want you getting sick after being in the toilet for Celestia knows how long!” And leaning over, he turned on the tap from the bathtub faucet.
“Wow, I actually got flushed?” Starlight blinked in surprise as her father finished sharing the story with her. The unicorn mare, now well into her forties and expecting her first child in a matter of weeks, had decided to pay her father a visit to learn what her foalhood had been like. That way she would be prepared for when her child would be born.
Firelight giggled. “Yup, and it scared your old stallion like nothing else. Perhaps that’s why you took so long to re-adjust back to toilet usage after you outgrew your chamber pot. But that’s okay, Daddy still loved you the whole time, Pumpky-Wumpkin.”
Starlight felt her cheeks flush bright red with embarrassment. “Dad!”
Firelight simply laughed. “Oh come now, Starlight, your old stallion’s just teasing you. But I can still remember you trying to sneak away to flush the toilet every night. And every time I caught you, you’d keep saying ‘But I wanna flush it again!’.”
Starlight just groaned and shook her head. “Why did I decide to come and visit my dad? I knew something like this would happen,” She thought to herself. “At least Sunburst isn’t here to see this, am I glad he’s getting the nursery ready. Hopefully, he’ll be able to help me when it’s my turn to teach a foal how to use the potty.”
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I love the cover art, Sweetie Bell lookings so happy over using the potty. It's very touching and sweet.
9777564 I'm glad you like it. There isn't much in the way of potty training art, this was the only other thing I could find that seemed suitable: images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/3f913415-819e-4646-beef-46fdb2d491cf/d4mjnv4-a6a8f68c-bfd8-4d6c-af46-63790edd7ff6.jpg/v1/fill/w_718,h_1113,q_70,strp/baby_growth_by_solar_slash_d4mjnv4-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTIzOSIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzNmOTEzNDE1LTgxOWUtNDY0Ni1iZWVmLTQ2ZmRiMmQ0OTFjZlwvZDRtam52NC1hNmE4ZjY4Yy1iZmQ4LTRkNmMtYWY0Ni02Mzc5MGVkZDdmZjYuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTgwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.dkC7kHrW2MAqcYukM1jTS0YDN-VFqbXJsptrxuGMcrA
<LoL!> Now this is certainly a delightful reprise of 'Potty Years'. In this case, Starlight still made it out of diapers, though. Perhaps if Plucky's parents would've thought of using a chamber pot?
Golly, I don't doubt Fire Light having one of those chamber pots. He'd certainly be the type to not like change, with the exception of Starlight's diapers.
What was really neat is seeing how Starlight's magical potential was already being realized by age 3! She's quite powerful and, honestly, I see it as a result of natural talent combined wih how much she learned to use her emotions to fuel her magic. (There really was a lot to gleam from Glimmer in 'All Bottled Up')
Fire Light is also a good character to, without being intentional, leave his daughter to her business while he tended to the door knocking. It was also easy to imagine him looking about the saturated bathroom building tension as he hoped his daughter was okay.
Very nice!
Awww. That was so funny. Poor Starlight