“Top right tape… aaand now the left one…”
Twilight was laying on her bed, although at the moment she was more sitting than laying, curving her spine so she was looking down at the diaper she was currently applying. Her magic glowed around the final tape as she moved to position it perfectly, smoothing it down against the plastic landing zone to make sure it adhered well.
“All done!” she said brightly to nobody, clopping her hooves together excitedly. The dutiful unicorn - make that /alicorn/ - student who adored checklists and routines in normal life liked them possibly even more when she was regressing. It made her feel secure when everything was done just so, when things happened the same time every time - the world was a little less scary when she could predict exactly what would happen, when. And so, as she settled deeper into her foal headspace, she was mentally checking off items on a list that was private, just for her.
Item number one, diaper.
Check!
Item number two, pacifier, floated across the room from its hiding place on her shelves, hidden behind two non-descript books. Well, non-descript to anypony else - the smaller book she knew was a compendium of advice for spells to eliminate and repel household pest. The larger one was a second edition of a book on herbal magick and medicine from East of Griffonstone, compiled by famed researcher Haychel Cartson.
While she was more famous for her work with the marine life of Equestria, in her later years Cartson had become quite the expert on the magic used by other species, most notably zebras and yaks. Twilight found her writing a fascinating read, and the beautiful illustrations certainly didn’t hurt…
Twilight blinked. She was distracting herself again! Her magic gently pushed the hefty tome back into place as she giggled at herself. Little fillies were easily distracted, after all.
Anyway, item number two!
Check!
Item number three, a warm bottle of milk, was waiting on her nightstand, next to her bust of Bucephalus. She’d heated it to just the right temperature that she could allow for 5 minutes of cooling time before it was cooled enough to drink. She calculated that about 1.75 minutes after that, it would be the perfect temperature. Which was good! She needed a little time before she really let go…
Bottle of milk! Check!
Which led her to item number four - a book on foal development, focusing on the early years. Twilight had all four issues of this series, but this was the first and most relevant to her…
Check!
“Okay, just a little study time before I let myself… relax,” she said to herself with a blush, glancing up at the clock to keep an eye on the time. Twilight reached out with her magic to open the book, but then stopped herself. Uncertainly, her hoof crept out instead, and she lifted the front cover with a minute shudder. Reading a book this way made her feel small again, just a baby filly who couldn’t control her own magic enough to even turn a page.
“S-so… newborn foals can generally walk within an hour of birth,” she read aloud to herself. “Speech generally takes longer, but the mothers of foals can expect their children to start talking by 9 months at the latest. Single words at first, like ‘Mama’ or ‘Dada’, but by the time they reach their second birthday most children can communicate using simple sentences such as ‘want go up’ or ‘give me ball’.”
Twilight skimmed the rest of the next few pages, which were all about a foal’s developing proficiency in language. She knew when she regressed she tended to retain most of her powers of speech, but dropped some more complicated words and occasionally lisped others. Based on what the book said, her language skills were at the older end of the age range of the book, perhaps a 4 to 6 year old - or a particularly advanced 3 year old...
Most of this chapter wasn’t of much interest to her, except for a small note at the end which mentioned that, while most foals learned to read by the age of 5, some particularly precocious little ones could manage it by 4 or even 3 years old.
Twilight glanced at the clock again. Four minutes…
She flicked the page, and her eyes opened slightly wider as she saw the next topic.
Toilet training.
Twilight’s eyes darted left and right as if checking for some intruder, or spy, who might be watching. Of course, she didn’t find anybody, since even her curtains were tightly drawn to prevent any passing pegasi (specifically her friend, Rainbow Dash) from noticing her, or worse, bursting in.
The alicorn couldn’t deny this was a particular topic of interest to her. After all, diapers were… well, she liked them, a lot. They made her feel… safe. Like accidents, of any kind, would be handled and dealt with by someone older, more experienced. Someone she could… look up to.
Twilight ruffled her wings, a pensive frown on her face. Now she was a Princess, even more people looked up to her instead, both figuratively and literally. Sometimes she felt like she was losing more and more of the childlike parts of herself, like there was a big gulf now between the big important Alicorn Princess she was supposed to be - and the padded, well-loved, carefree filly she longed to be.
She shook her head. Well, she was being that little filly now, right?
Yes she was, and little fillies didn’t waste their valuable studying time fretting over if they were little enough, did they?
‘Nuh huh’, Twilight scolded herself internally, her troubled mood dissipating as quickly as it had emerged. She kicked her back hooves with a giggle as she looked back to the book, floating her pacifier up to her pursed lips. She imagined it wasn’t her own magic that carried it, but someone else’s, some loving caretaker who’d shush her with it when she got too fussy.
In her mind’s eye, Twilight felt them reach out and stroke her mane gently, with a soft smile on their lips.
“A couple more minutes, Twiley, and then it’s time for your bottle, that’s my good girl,” the non-descript voice cooed, and ‘Twiley’ suckled her binky bashfully as she mumbled her assent.
“H-hem… anyway… mosht - most - fillies and colts gain control over their bowels long before their bladders, with the average age being just under two years old, forgiving some accidents, which are considered a natural part of development for most foals,” Twilight enunciated as clearly as she could around the pacifier, pushing it to the corner of her mouth so her lips could move.
She huffed frustratedly, wanting to suck, and then shrugged, letting it move back into the center of her palate. She’d just have to read in her head, then.
‘Or, since I’m not reading aloud anyway…’
Twilight’s cheeks glowed a little more as she imagined an extra weight on the mattress - but could it really be called ‘extra weight’ when she was so tiny, so light herself? Just a little baby, really, and she curled up against the adult she pictured besides her, who extended a hoof towards the book.
“Do you see what that says, sweetheart? It’s talking about foals who need diapers… Just like you, hm?” the fantasy adult said with a chuckle, as she patted Twilight’s poofy bottom.
“Uh huh,” murmured Twilight, her tail swishing slightly.
“Now it says here… the average age for potty training is around 3… Hm, but some foals aren’t ready until they’re four, or even older - what do you think, Twiley? How old is my padded princess?”
Twilight scrunched up her nose as if she was thinking hard - which she was! Was she four? Or was she three? She knew she wasn’t gonna be ready to give up her diapers for a long time yet…
“I’m… I’m… I’m fwee an’ a half!” she said with a big grin, the force of her statement sending her pacifier tumbling out of her mouth.
“Whoopsy!” said her fantasy caretaker as the retrieved her pacifier and floated it up towards her mouth. “Three and a half, what a big girl you are!”
Twilight shook her head violently, looking up at the space next to her with a pout.
“...Oh… but of course… you’re not too big, are you? You’re still a baby, really.”
Twilight nodded slowly, and closed the book in front of her with a hoof, sitting up. She looked at the clock. Study time was over.
“Jus’ a baby,” she mumbled, as she rearranged some of the pillows behind her before she lay bag, lounging comfortably, ready for her bottle, her diaper’s crinkling seeming even louder as she changed position, a reminder that she was tiny and helpless and being looked after…
Her magic reached out, clumsily, and then stronger, gripping the bottle and hovering it over towards her. The alicorn splashed a little on the crook of her elbow, and found it was just as she’d planned - the perfect temperature for a rather big foal to guzzle down, without burning her mouth or being too cold. She spat her pacifier out again, deliberately this time.
“Open wide, baby girl,” murmured the voice, and Twilight latched onto the nipple of the bottle as it floated near her lips, suckling hungrily.
“Mmm!” she managed, wriggling cutely on her bed, her eyes closed as she savored this moment.
The milk was thick, creamy, and soothing as it flowed into her mouth, and Twilight made shameless gulping noises as she drank, feeling completely unembarrassed and safe. She could feel herself relaxing as the warmth spread through her stomach, her wings unfurling a little and spreading out behind her. Her muscles had been tight, hooves pulled up close to her body - but now they relaxed and moved away.
With a big sigh, Twilight opened her eyes dreamily, steadying the bottle with a hoof as her sucking slowed. Moments like this… she felt tiny, in a good way. She hadn’t felt tiny like this in a long time. Too long.
Slowly, as time passed without her really noticing, she drained the bottle. As she finished the last drops she floated it away, back over to the bedside table. Her stomach felt round and full, almost uncomfortably so, so she sat up a little more, her diaper rustling softly as she moved.
“Urp! S’cuse me!” Twilight said with a giggle as she burped, wiping her chin with the back of her hoof. She squirmed, rubbing her back hooves all over the bedspread, feeling a deep sense of contentment that showed in her expression, just enjoying the sensations of, well… everything. Everything felt just… great.
Except for maybe one thing… Her tail flicked slightly as Twilight moved to reposition herself again, spreading her legs a little wider. She tensed… and then relaxed again, as she began to wet her diaper. The liquid flowed towards the back, being quickly absorbed by the padding, warming her rump and tickling her as it traveled downwards.
“Heehee,” she mumbled as she reached clumsily with a hoof towards her pacifier, dragging it over and placing it in her mouth as she finished emptying her bladder. Twilight hadn’t had to go too badly, but then, foals who wore diapers didn’t hold it until they were desperate, did they? They couldn’t hold it. They were… too little.
“M’too li’l!” she told herself, wriggling as she felt the slightly mushy wetness against her bottom. “Too… *yawn* li’l…”
Twilight found herself feeling sleepy, relaxed and soothed by her activities. She yawned again, carefully stopping her pacifier falling out with a hoof, as she turned onto her side, laying back down. Well, babies took naps, didn’t they?
“Mmhmm,” she whispered, to nobody in particular, her hind hooves stretching out until one just rested besides the foal development book she’d been reading. And then, she slept.
----------------------------------------------------------
“Hey, Twilight!”
Twilight’s eyes shot open in terror. Spike?! Was Spike in here? She ripped the binky out of her mouth as she looked over towards her stairs…
Nothing. Except…
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
“C’mon Twilight, open up! Applejack’s here to see you!” Spike said, grumbling to Applejack behind the door. “Jeez, and she says baby dragons nap a lot!”
“Heh, well, I’ve known you to take naps at all hours of the day, Spike - ‘sides, ya know Twi works awful hard, she probably needed a rest,” Applejack paused.
“Sure would be nice t'see my marefriend today though, Twi!” she added, louder, to be sure that Twilight would hear her.
The alicorn rushed to get up, but only managed to get tangled up in her sheets.
“Ugh!” She kicked out, trying to dislodge the fabric that was wound around her legs. One hoof connected with something and sent it flying off the bed, but Twilight was too distracted by trying to escape to pay attention. She hurriedly stuffed the pacifier under her pillows, stumbling out of bed.
Twilight revved up her wings briefly, but didn’t manage to get the appropriate amount of lift in time, miss-stepping as she kicked her sheets away, and landing on her face.
“Okay, okay, calm down, I just need to make myself look presentable…”
Her magic reached out for the hairbrush in the bathroom, and carried it towards her, smoothing down her mane as her guest waited patiently. Twilight tossed the brush aside and then moved her magic down - she considered peeling off the tapes, but in her panic, she worried it might make an obvious noise and then they’d KNOW.
Instead she pulled at the sides, ripping them both away. The sodden diaper fell to the floor, but she just managed to catch it before it hit it.
“Twili-”
“J-just a second!” Twilight yelled, more shrilly than she intended, trotting towards the bathroom to dispose of the diaper that she was wearing just a few moments ago.
She wrapped it in one plastic bag, and then another, before stowing it in the cupboard under the bathroom sink, vowing to remove it later that day. The alicorn trotted back out and down the stairs, flicking and swishing her tail to try and dissipate any remaining wet-diaper scent: she didn’t have time to clean herself up right now, so she spritzed a little perfume that Rarity had given her, hoping it would cover anything.
Twilight reached the door, frantically unlocking it with her magic, giving the two figures behind an apologetic grin as she got it open.
“Sorry!”
“What were you doing in there?” Spike asked with a baby dragon scowl. He sniffed the air. “And what’s that smell? It’s like perfume…”
“Tsk, don’t pester the lady, Spike. She might’ve been up to, uh, grown-up business,” Applejack said with a blush. “Um, not that you aren’t grownup or nothin’, it’s just, uh-”
Twilight chuckled, feeling slightly calmer now she was sure she hadn’t been found out.
“Actually, Spike, I was doing a little studying and I decided to take a nap - and I happened to feel like wearing a little perfume before I came out to see my marefriend,” she leaned forwards, nuzzling her neck against Applejack, who rubbed against her in turn.
“I hope that’s not a problem for you, my number one assistant?”
“Um, no, I guess not… You guys are always pretty mushy,” Spike shrugged, turning to leave back down the main set of stairs, Twilight and Applejack following slowly behind him.
Twilight lagged behind for a moment, hesitating at her door long enough for Applejack to look back to see if she was coming.
“You okay, Twi?”
“Hm? Oh! Yep! Just fine!” Twilight gave a slightly-strained grin as she used her magic to pull the door shut. “Are we meeting up with Rainbow Dash? You know she’s been coaching me on some more advanced flying techniques…”
Twilight’s voice receded as she traveled down the stairs, leaving her closed door behind her.
Closed, but not locked - because Twilight was certain she hadn’t left anything incriminating out.