After stacking more books, the pile became unstable and it fell on Scootaloo’s turn (though this time the filly escaped without harm). This made Scootaloo very angry, she always wanted to win and losing didn't make her feel any better about her current predicament. “Ugh I’m so peeved!” She burst out, which made Starlight gasp!
“Such language young filly, where in Equestria did you learn to talk like that?” Starlight asked, before she reluctantly added. “When I was a foal if I ever said something like that I would get punished, with a few spankings on my rump.”
Scootaloo shuddered at the thought of being spanked like a foal, she couldn’t remember the last time her own mother had done it, but she did remember how sore her rump had been afterward.
“I know I can't do that to you as you aren't my foal, but I need to punish you somehow.” Starlight said to Scootaloo, while walking nervously back and forth. It was obvious Starlight was just as uncomfortable with the idea of punishing Scootaloo, as Scootaloo was at being punished by Starlight.
Scootaloo dragged her hooves on the floor. “I’m sorry Starlight, I know I shouldn't of said that but I’m just so upset that I lost,” She protested, trying to look as guilty as possible. “I just want nothing but victory, don't you know what it's like to lose?” Scootaloo asked as she sat down and a little crinkle could be heard from her diaper.
“Hey, I can forgive you for saying that,” Starlight replied “I mean anger is in all of us. I got angry at Twilight for taking back the village that I used to mind control, and that didn’t go so well.”
Scootaloo gave Starlight a concerned look. “The rumors about her are true?! I thought they were just ponies exaggerating!” She thought, and gulped. “Mind Control? She asked, a little afraid Starlight might control her into acting like a foal. “Are you going to brainwash me?” She nervously bluttered out.
“Whoa, whoa! I’m not going to do that to you!” Starlight protested immediately. “Let's just say it was around the time that I was wrapped up in my own feelings of anger and envy. But don't worry, everypony, including the ones in my old village forgave me, and I vowed to never again resort to such measures,” She added. “It's nothing to worry about. And as for your punishment, I’ve got the perfect idea for you Scootaloo, when it's time for lunch I get to feed you just once, don't worry I won't mention any of this to Twilight or Spike.” She said in a cooing tone, and she rubbed Scootaloo on the back once she finished what she had to say.
“Bu...but Spike’s home! What if he-” Scootaloo was interrupted by Starlight’s hoof, which covered her mouth.
“-Don't you worry ,I hear he's reading all the Power Ponies comic books right now, so he should be busy for a long time.” Starlight replied.
Scootaloo didn't like the idea of somepony feeding her when she knew how to do it herself. But then again she had cursed (albeit unintentionally) so maybe this was something she deserved. At least it was better than a spanking or time out (and certainly better than having her mouth washed out with soap, which is what her mother had done the last time she’d uttered a curse word by accident). “Ugh, fine. But I’m not going to like it,” She said, folding her hooves across her chest in a pouting motion. “Just please don't take pictures of me while you feed me. I would hate for somepony like Twilight to see that, or even Spike.” She added, blushing a bit.
Starlight smiled and in a sweet motherly tone she said. “Dont worry baby, nopony will know of this and if I have to I’ll bribe Spike with some gems to stay quiet,” She then placed Scootaloo on her back, “Hold on tight, baby. Let's play a game of ride the pony, it will be super fun!” She cooed, as she rode around the castle with Scootaloo on board. Scootaloo held onto Starlight tightly, afraid she'd fall off. After several minutes of running around Starlight let Scootaloo down, and levitated a few plushies over to her. “Wanna play with these plushies?” She asked. :I know you like sleeping with the Dash plushie the most. Twilight told me, and well, I’ll be honest, I like playing with dolls sometimes myself.” Starlight said with a blush.
Scootaloo reluctantly picked up her Rainbow Dash plushie and made it fly in the air. “That's ok, I won't tell,” She replied to Starlight. “I can’t understand why you would play with toys though, I know grown-ups can be weird but I thought they didn’t do things like play with dolls. I mean you did help take over a village from some evil empire in that town you spoke about or something?” She asked innocently.
Starlight realized she hadn't really told this young filly about what she had done to that village. But should she tell her? What would Scootaloo think if she did? Only Twilight and her friends supposedly knew about her past, everypony else only supposedly knew her as Twilight’s new pupil. But was it possible Twilight or somepony else had blabbed to the town? “I should probably tell the kid if she knows about my village,” Starlight thought to herself, and reluctantly sighed. “Better if she hears the truth from me rather than find out for herself. I just hope she won’t hate me by the time I’ve told her everything.”
“You really wanna know, huh?” Starlight asked her young charge, to which Scootaloo (suspecting nothing) nodded. Gulping and taking a deep breath, Starlight began her tale. “I’m not sure what you’ve heard from other ponies about me, but they probably weren’t kidding when they said I was quite nasty in the past.” She began.
Scootaloo listened throughout Starlight’s entire tale, noticeably shivering and shaking in fright during some of the more “descriptive” parts as Starlight explained how she had stripped ponies of their cutie marks, and even tried to rewrite history as an act of revenge.
“I’m still not sure what part of me thought Twilight was still faking it with those horrible futures after she showed me that waste land,” Starlight finished, a lone tear of regret seemed to be trying to form in her eyes but she refused to let it come out. “I’m just glad she didn’t give up on me and vaporized me like she would’ve been entitled to do. Since then I’ve been busy learning about the magic of friendship, the very thing I rejected and tried to control. How other ponies in town came to learn of some of the details, I don’t know.”
Scootaloo was silent for a moment, still trying to process everything Starlight had told her, and relieved that her diaper was still clean. “I didn’t think it was that bad, I just thought she messed ponies heads a little.” She thought, and ended up backing away from Starlight. Sure, Starlight seemed nice now, but then so had Diamond Tiara that one time during the flag carry competition, before she intentionally let slip that comment about Scootaloo’s wings that is (something Scootaloo still hadn’t fully forgiven the former bully for).
Starlight brought Scootaloo into a hug, hoping she could calm her down a little. “Hey now, it’s okay. I’m not like that anymore,” She vowed. “Twilight trusts me, and Spike and the others do as well. But I’m not expecting you to completely trust me, I’m not proud of what I did in the past.” She insisted, while hoping she hasn't ruined her friendship with Scootaloo (assuming they could still be friends).
“I’m sorry, Starlight,” Scootaloo apologized, feeling a tad bit guilty for making her bring up all of that stuff. “I guess I’m just shocked somepony as cool and pretty as you would commit a crime like that”
“Pretty? I’m not pretty.” Starlight thought, but to Scootaloo she simply responded with. “It’s alright, just don’t tell your friends about what you heard. There’s a reason why I wanted to keep it secret,” She then turned her attention to the clock on the wall. According to the hands, itt was time for some lunch. “Well, I guess it's time for somepony to eat,” She cooed, levitating Scootaloo off the ground, carrying her to the kitchen, and putting her in the high chair. She then went to make some lunch. Luckily she didn't make anything too big, just a hay sandwich and some vegetables on the side. After all, Twilight had made it clear Scootaloo needed her nutrition.
Seeing Scootaloo make an icky face at the veggies, Starlight decided to make a litlte offer to sweeten the deal. “Since Twilight isn't here, I suppose if you behave yourself, I will make you a chocolate milkshake later,” She said with a wink. Scootaloo happily clapped her hooves together and let out a loud squee. Starlight smiled, and patted Scootaloo on the head. “Well, it looks like somepony is happy. But remember you need to behave yourself if you want it, that means if I ask you to take a nap you must do it,” She instructed, as she levitated the food over to the high chair and placed a bib around Scootaloo. “I noticed you were a messy eater earlier, so how about from now on you eat with that?” She asked. “That way you don't get messy”
Scootaloo crossed her forehooves together and pouted. “I’m not a baby I don't need a bib. Bibs are for ponies who make a mess out of themselves. I’m a good eater, I don't make a mess”. She claimed upon looking at the bib in question, it was pink and she despised that color with a passion (though it did look good on Pinkie Pie and her friend Diamond Tiara)!
Starlight couldn't help but giggle at Scootaloo’s reaction. “But honey you made a mess this morning, obviously that's a sign that you need one,” Then she added. “You know what? How about this: If you can finish lunch without spilling anything on your bib then you won't have to wear it, but if you do spill, you will have to wear it for all future meals. That ok with you?
“Yeah, I guess,” Scootaloo shrugged. “Hey, wait! Weren't you going to feed me?” Scootaloo asked, as if suddenly she wanted somepony to feed her. “I mean… it’s not like I wanted you to feed me, it’s just... ya know.. I’m concerned you may have forgotten.” She looked out the window after saying this, hoping Starlight wouldn’t see the smile on her face.
Starlight did indeed see Scootaloo smile, but she couldn't help but wonder, “Why is she smiling? She says she doesn't like all this baby stuff, and yet she was happily playing with her toys the other day, and now she’s smiling at the thought of me feeding her. Why?” Then she told Scootaloo. “I’m not going to feed you if you don’t want me to, but are you hiding something from me? Something you want to talk about?” She innocently asked, while trying not to sound like she was prying..
Scootaloo immediately shook her head “NO! I mean... no thank you. I don't have anything to say I was just... curious... that's all!” She protested, her hooves started shaking ever so slightly, as if she was scared Starlight would figure out what she was hiding. “I can't let her find out what I really want, it's both embarrassing and a strange feeling. She’ll probably laugh and think I’m a freak.” She thought.
Starlight just knew something was up, but she could also sense that Scootaloo wasn’t going to open up. If she couldn't find out now though, maybe she could find after lunch? “Ok Scootaloo, fine,” She replied. “How about, after lunch you tell me everything? Please? It's not healthy hiding anything from anyone. If something’s troubling you, I just want to help. But you don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to, though I’d really like it if you did.” She added, in hopes her kind words would encourage Scootaloo to confess.
Convinced that Starlight wasn’t going to let up anytime soon and that she was likely to find out anyway, Scootaloo sighed. “Ok, fine. I’ll tell you after I eat. But you gotta promise not to laugh at me… It's a difficult feeling.” She said to Starlight, as she started to slowly chew her food. She wasn't all too happy that she had to tell somepony, but she could think of worse ponies she could be confessing to (such as her honorary big sister, Rainbow Dash. Sure, Rainbow Dash could be very understanding, but this was something Scootaloo wasn’t certain Rainbow Dash would be okay with, for good reasons).
It didn't take long for Scootaloo to finish her meal, even though she tried to eat as slowly as possible in the hopes that maybe Starlight might give up on making her confess.
When lunch was finished, Starlight took Scootaloo into the castle living room. She sat down in one of the chairs and motioned for Scootaloo to sit down in her lap. At first the tomboyish filly didn't move, she didn't know what to do. It seemed awkward to sit on the lap of a pony she barely knew, especially with a diaper on. But after some thinking, Scootaloo finally decided to reluctantly sit in Starlight’s lap, and oddly enough it made Scootaloo smile. She couldn’t really explain why, but it made her feel safe and cared for.
Starlight smiled down at Scootaloo and said. “Ok young filly, I know what it's like to hide secrets, so don't you lie to me. I know you are hiding something, please do Miss. Starlight a favor and tell me, it doesn't hurt to tell the truth.” She lightly stroked Scootaloo’s back in a calm way to try and encourage the filly.
A tear slid down Scootaloo’s eyes, a promise was a promise, and if there was anypony she should tell it might as well be somepony like Starlight who was entrusted with taking care of her. Plus, Starlight had promised not to laugh, and Scootaloo was hopeful the mare would keep that promise. The young speedster started to breath heavily, this was it, the moment of truth! “Ok...I’ll tell you, but please don't make fun of me,” She said softly, as she put her hooves on top of her diaper making it crinkle a little. “You see, I’ve kinda been giving my mother a hard time, because I miss the times when I was a baby.” Scootaloo blushed deeply. She looked at Starlight who wasn't smiling or even laughing, which was a surprise to Scootaloo.
Scootaloo reluctantly continued. “My mom used to pay a lot of attention to me when I was a foal, and ever since I got my cutie mark I’ve kind of realized that my childhood is starting to come to an end. I know I can’t stay young forever, and I didn’t mean to give my mom such a hard time, but it just pains me to think that my childhood’s almost over and I still haven’t flown yet. When Twilight started to treat me like a baby and put these silly diapers on me, I admit I found it odd at first, especially when she revealed she had my mother’s permission, but, then I started getting all this attention, and it made me feel like a foal again. I didn’t like not being allowed to feed myself or losing some of my bathroom privileges, but the rest wasn’t so bad. I’ve even starting to not mind the diapers so much, Mom says I was potty trained a little faster than most foals, so I guess it makes sense,” She added, relieved to let everything out. But she couldn't help but finish by saying “I’m such a worthless pony, aren't I?”
But to Scootaloo’s surprise, she was immediately wrapped around Starlight’s hooves as the unicorn mare told her. “You aren't worthless, you just miss everything your mother used to do for you. I can understand that, but you shouldn't bad mouth her just because you miss that stuff, you should tell her how you really feel. I’m no expert, but if what I’ve heard about your mother is true, I’m sure she'll understand,” Starlight said sweetly, and placed Scootaloo down on her back on the floor, “And nothing’s wrong with liking diapers Scootaloo, I can see you probably won't be interested in being completely babied,” Starlight slowly made her way towards Scootaloo, then she put her hooves on her belly and started a tickle attack! “But… I think somepony is ticklish. You better prepare yourself, because the tickle monster wants to make you laugh!” She exclaimed, and started to tickle Scootaloo all over.
Scootaloo kept rolling around making her diaper crinkle as she did so “Ple.. please, stop, that’s not cool!” She pleaded, hoping Starlight would let her go. But Starlight didn't and continued her assault. Scootaloo however didn’t realize until too late that she was about to release her bladder! All this tickling and attention Starlight was giving her made it hard to focus on holding it in
As soon as Starlight stopped her tickling, a loud hissing noise could be heard from Scootaloo as she helplessly released what she had been holding. She blushed slightly when she was finished. “I’m sorry, I should've told you had to go potty. I had to use it after lunch, but I got caught up in this whole telling you the truth thing and forgot. Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t do number two though.”
Starlight smiled (while mentally thanking Celestia Scootaloo hadn’t done the other thing too). “ It’s alright, but I think we better get somepony into a fresh new diaper before she gets a rash.” She gently cooed, and lifted Scootaloo up.
Starlight levitated Scootaloo onto a changing table and got a few diapers and some powder. But right as she was about to take the old diaper off, there was a knock at the door.
“Great, somepony is here,” She sarcastically thought. “But either I let them continue ringing, or I change Scootaloo out of this soaked diaper. Whoever it is can wait.” She thought, although the more she thought about it, the more she was concerned about who was at the door. What if it was somepony important, like Twilight?
Scootaloo saw Starlight was concerned and told her. “Why don't you go see who’s out there? I’ll just sit here in this diaper till you get back. Pretty sure I won't get a rash if you're only gone for a minute or two.” She insisted.
“You really sure about that? I can ask Spike to get the door,” Starlight replied. “I don’t want you to get a rash and give Twilight reason to think I didn’t take good care of you.”
“It’s alright,” Scootaloo blushed. “Worst case scenario, I can probably change myself. It can’t be that hard.”
“Okay, if I’ve not back in five minutes you can change your diaper,” Starlight insisted. “And if you have to go at all before I get back, you can just use the bathroom by yourself, okay?”
“Okay.” Scootaloo nodded, and watched Starlight leave to answer the door.
Starlight answered the door, and to her surprise it was those former bullies that she’d heard about from Scootaloo. Diamond Tiara and her best friend Silver Spoon. “Hello little fillies, what can I help you with?” Starlight asked.
“Hi Miss um… Starlight, I was wondering if Scootaloo is here?” Diamond Tiara asked. “Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are having a crusader meeting at their clubhouse, but they’re missing one pony and they asked me to see if Scootaloo could attend.” She said with a bright smile.
Starlight gulped, she very well couldn’t tell the two fillies why Scootaloo wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting, but how could she get them to leave without raising suspicion? After a few seconds of pondering, she hastily replied. “I.. uh... no, Scootaloo can't come out. I’m afraid she's gotten a little sick and needs to stay in door till she's better.”
“Gee, that’s too bad,” Diamond replied. “Well, can I at least see her to make sure she’s okay? Maybe she’ll want to let Applebloom and Sweetie Belle know about this.” She and Silver Spoon were going to head inside, but Starlight stopped them.
“I’m sorry, I know you’re worried about her, but she could be contagious,” Starlight told them. “I wouldn't want either of you getting sick as well.”
“Wow, I didn’t think she that sick,” Silver Spoon commented. “She must’ve caught that nasty flu bug that’s going around.”
“I certainly wouldn’t to catch it, and neither would anypony else,” Diamond gulped, remembering how dreadful her last sick day had been (no thanks to her mother). “Guess we’ll have to tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle the bad news.” The two fillies left without saying another word.
Relieved that she had handled the situation properly, Starlight came back and saw Scootaloo poking her wet diaper. “Ok, Scootaloo your friends are gone, so I can finish changing you.” She told the filly, as she used her magic to take off the wet diaper and put a brand new one on her, once it was snugly wrapped around the filly’s waist, Starlight brought Scootaloo down from the changing table.
“Thanks for changing me, Miss. Starlight,” Scootaloo replied, hugging the unicorn tightly. “I kind of like the smell of a new diaper.”
“It’s probably the powder,” Starlight commented. “That always seems to have a pleasant scent.”
Scootaloo blushed. “I guess,” Then she felt an ominous gurgle in her stomach. “Uh, Miss. Starlight, I have to go potty.” She blushed.
“Alright, you know where the bathroom is?” Starlight asked, to which Scootaloo nodded. “Then go take care of business, I’ll wait right outside if you need any help.”
“Thanks,” Scootaloo blushed again. “I may need a little help wiping up, I sometimes still have trouble with that.” Then she made a mad dash for the toilet, quite relieved when she made it with seconds to spare!
After that, the day went by pretty fast for foal and foalsitter. The two ended up braiding each other's manes, putting flowers into them, and even making little jokes about Twilight. Scootaloo especially found herself actually liking makeovers a little, despite initially thinking she would hate them.
But all things must come to an end. And eventually, night time came. “Alright, Scootaloo,” Starlight declared. “I was hoping Twilight would be back by now, but it looks like she’ll be a bit late. It’s time for you to go to bed.”
“Alright.” Scootaloo yawned, too tired to truly protest her bed time.
Twilight came trotting back into the castle at exactly the moment Scootaloo was being put to bed. In a small bag held by the young alicorn princess, was a baby bottle, a few pacifiers, and a few onesies. “I see you were about to put her to sleep,” Twilight commented to Starlight. “Well, before you do that, here’s a little something for Scootaloo,” Twilight inserted the purple colored pacifier into the filly’s mouth. “I noticed you’ve been having issues sleeping at night,” She commented softly to the filly. “If you suck on that at night I promise it will help you sleep alot better.”
At first, Scootalo tried removing the pacifier, but she did suckle on it for a few moments and found that it was really relaxing for her. “May..Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought it would be.” She said, slowly drifting off into a deep sleep.
Once Scootaloo was soundly asleep, Twilight and Starlight tip hoofed downstairs. Then Twilight asked her young student. “So, how was she? Was she any trouble?”
Starlight shook her head. “Oh no, she was no trouble at all. Though there was one outburst of foul language, and I learned the hard way about the fact that her wings haven’t fully developed yet. However, I did end up learning why she’s been giving her mother such a hard time,” She replied, and explained. “Turns out she misses some of the attention she got as a baby, and she’s upset that, since she’s got her cutie mark, that means her childhood is starting to come to an end. She knows she can’t go back to being a foal though, and I know she doesn’t want to be completely babied, but I think this punishment ended up being more for her benefit than we realized.”
Twilight was silent while Starlight told her all of this, then she smiled. “Well, I’m glad you made some progress with her, and just in time too her mother will be back in three days. So Scootaloo will have a lot of time to be herself, and get all the attention she desires. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss what she told you while I was away with her.” She replied. and with that, she, Starlight, and Spike went off to bed as well.