Being small could have its disadvantages. It wasn’t really Pipsqueak’s fault, he’d been relatively in the middle of his peers back in Trottingham and had thought little of the fact that they seemed to get slightly taller whereas he’d stayed the same. But when his family had decided to move to Ponyville for the sake of better schooling, Pip now felt like a little fish in a big pond. He actually wasn’t that scrawny, but being in a new environment that was strange and unfamiliar made him aware of things he might have previously ignored.
There was also another problem and a more urgent one as far as Pip was concerned. Ponyville’s toilets were vastly different from the ones he was familiar with in Trottingham. Heck, in some places back in Trottingham they didn’t even chamber pots, nature itself was the bathroom and a small pit was where one answered the call.
Not so with Ponyville. Not only were chamber pots widespread and considered acceptable, but indoor toilets were all the rage. And unfortunately for Pip, his parents installed one of the newer “throne” models. All he knew was that these toilets had huge bowls, huge seats, and ate anything that could fit into them. For Pip, he feared that would mean him because of how small he was. Even just looking at the toilet in his bathroom filled him with dread (and often something else). He’d heard stories from some of his peers about a “monster” that ate ponies. Lacking any knowledge of how or why the throne toilets made that awful noise, he assumed the monster explanation was the most valid.
So it was that Pipsqueak ended up in diapers again, something that his peers started noticing and teasing him for. It really bothered him to be called names like “Pipstink”, “Diaper Dweeb” and “Piddle Pants”, but everytime he tried to face his fear it always ended the same way: He’d clumsily waddle into the bathroom, gaze at the porcelain “throne”, and run away in fear of being gobbled up by the monster.
With his new education at stake, Pip’s parents realized that they would have to do something if they wanted to get their son to overcome his fear. They thought first of therapy or a private instructor, but ruled out both as they proved to be too expensive (especially since they couldn’t automatically guarantee results). So they had to resort to a more “uncoventional” option. But if it worked (and they were hoping it would), their son’s toilet troubles would be a thing of the past.
“So, what’s so ‘special’ about these new diapers you’re making me wear?” Pip asked his father as he was strapped into one of the aforementioned undergarments. They didn’t look or feel like anything out of the ordinary as far as diapers went. But if his parents said they were “special” then they had to be, his parents were never wrong.
Pip’s father just flashed a knowing smile as he commented. “You’ll see in a minute, mate. Just gotta finish with this tab here.” As he fiddled about with it, he secretly gazed at a small patch that looked more like tape to the untrained eye. The instructions had said to fasten it just right for the enchantment to work, and that’s what he was hoping for.
The tab was taped into place a moment later, and Pip’s father stepped back. His son couldn’t have known, but he was secretly in a trance like state given the way his eyes were staring off into the distance. “Time to see if it worked.” Pip’s father thought to himself as he cleared his throat and clapped his hooves. “Pip, can you hear me?”
Pipsqueak blinked and seemed to nod. “Huh? Sure I can, Pop. Why do you ask?”
“I was just explaining how important it is to make sure your new diaper is on securely,” Pip’s father explained. “After all, a big, strong, brave pony like you deserves only the best.”
“I’m… brave?” Pipsqueak questioned the thought momentarily. It felt like he already knew this even though a part of him thought he didn’t.
His father nodded. “Yes, you are very brave. You’re the bravest little pony there ever was. So brave in fact that you’re not afraid of anything. You don’t fear that ‘monster’ that lurks in our bathroom. You know that you could conquer it with the greatest of ease if it existed. But because you’re still a bit small, we have to diaper you since your bladder is a bit tiny.”
Pipsqueak blushed as right on cue he felt the familiar pang in his bladder indicating that he had to go. “So, I just go to the loo?” He asked, no longer sounding afraid of it even though he could’ve sworn he used to for some strange reason.
Pip’s father nodded again and then promptly took his son by the hoof. “Correct. I’ll accompany you to make sure you understand how to do it properly, especially with your…” He coughed into a hoof. “Er, protection.”
“You mean my diaper?” Pip pondered.
“Yes, Pip. But protection is more reassuring, don’t you agree?” Pip’s father commented, planting another suggestion into his son’s mind. It landed without hesitation, the mind was eager to accept it.
To see if the plan that he and wife had made would work, Pipsqueak’s father took his son into the bathroom.
Upon eyeing the toilet, Pip started to think about the loud noise that it made. “Pop,” He said as he turned back to his father. “Why does the loo make that loud awful noise? How does it do that?”
“Don’t you worry, mate. I will show you,” His father told him as he picked up his son and went over to the toilet. When they reached it, Pip’s father pointed a hoof towards a silver handle that was attached to the upper left side of the tank. “Now, see that handle right there?” He asked. Pip looked at it and nodded slowly. “That’s what makes that loud noise which is called a flush. To do that, you just have to push it down. Go ahead, give it a try and see it for yourself.”
“O… okay.” Pipsqueak said. Then reaching out a hoof, he pressed the handle down.
The toilet roared loudly as it began to flush! When the earth pony colt looked down, his eyes widened in surprise, watching as the water in the bowl was spinning and swirling around and around at a high rate of speed. After a few seconds, it turned into a dizzying whirlpool before it swirled down into a hole at the bottom of the bowl and disappeared. Then it came back as if nothing had happened. “So what do you think, now?” Pipsqueak’s father asked as he placed his son back onto the bathroom floor. “You want to try using the loo?”
Pipsqueak nodded. “Sure, Pop. As long as I get to watch it flushing again. That was so cool!”
This made his father smile, so far, the plan was working better then he had expected. “Good,” He said. “Now, listen carefully, mate. First, let me take off your diaper. You won’t be able to use the loo if you have a diaper on,” After removing Pip’s diaper, he picked up his son again. “Second, you sit down on the seat. But since you can’t reach it, I’ll help you do that. And then you just do what you usually do in your diapers. Just be careful not to move around too much, or you might fall in.” Once Pipsqueak was placed onto the toilet, his father suddenly realized something. “With his diaper off, I hope that he doesn't snap out of the trance,” He thought to himself as he turned his head away so he could give his son some privacy. “If it does, then this could be a problem.” Fortunately, after about a minute or two, he heard a steady tinkling sound and a few splashes.
“Um… Pop?” Pip called out as soon as he was finished. “I think I’m done.”
Turning back towards his son, Pipsqueak’s father took a quick down into the toilet bowl. “Great work, mate,” He said. “Your mum is going to so proud when she hears about this!”
Pip then saw his father reach out a hoof and pulled some pieces of a paper like substance off from a nearby roll. “What is this for, Pop?” He asked as he eyed it.
This is toilet paper,” His father explained. “It is for cleaning your flanks up after you do your business. Then once you are all done cleaning, you just put the used pieces into the loo.”
Pipsqueak eyed the silver handle again. “And then I flush?” He asked as his father wiped his flanks clean with the toilet paper and deposited it into the toilet bowl.
“Yes indeed, Pip,” He nodded, picking up is son and moved him over to the handle. “And this time you get to see why whatever is in the loo never comes back.”
As his eyes peered down into the toilet, Pipsqueak reach out a hoof and just like he did earlier, pressed down the the handle.
The toilet once again roared as it began to flush loudly. And the water in the bowl started spinning and swirling rapidly around and around. When it became a dizzying whirlpool, it began to pull everything that was floating in the water down towards the hole at the bottom of the bowl. The little earth pony smiled as he watched as one by one, the contents went down through the hole, turning the water crystal clear again and seconds later it swirled down the drain. When it returned, Pipsqueak saw that there was no sign of was in it just moments ago.
After his diaper was placed back on, his father helped him wash his hooves before washing his own, and then they went to find Pip’s mother so they could tell her the great news.
The enchantment (in actuality a hypnotic inductor that would cause the wearer to enter into a trance like state) worked wonders for Pip. No longer was he scared of the toilet. He conqured it as if he’d never been afraid of it at all. But for some reason his parents wouldn’t graduate him to pull-ups, they insisted he would have to wait and “prove” himself a little more.
So this process repeated itself for about a year. But when the condition for school enrollment was that the child be diaper free, Pip’s parents were forced to come clean about their little “plan” to help their son advance in his toilet training.
“So, this whole time, I’ve merely ‘believed’ I wasn’t afraid of the loo?” Pipsqueak had asked his parents upon finding out.
Pip’s mother had reluctantly acknowledged this fact. “Yes. But your father and I believed we had to do something in order to help you.”
“But you’re old enough now to know that there’s no such thing as a ‘monster’ in the loo,” Pip’s father added. “The only reason anypony even thinks that at first, is because they don’t know how to describe the flushing sound. Once ponies know, they only bring it up if they want to scare little ponies like you. But you’re old enough to know better now, right?”
“I… think I do,” Pip commented. “Still, if I did fall in. Would anything happen to me?”
“Not a chance, mate. At worst you’d get a little wet,” Pip’s father told him. “And as long as you’re careful that won’t happen to you. After all, that’s why your mum and I bought you that stepstool.”