Almost from birth, Flash Sentry had grown up hearing about the many legendary exploits of one of his ancestors: His great grand-uncle, Flash Magnus. One of the pillars of legend or so it was said. Flash Sentry wanted to be just like his great grand-uncle, even though at first he didn’t really know how other than trying to be brave. To him that meant showing no fear and tackling things that were much bigger than him. But it seemed like all that did was get him into a lot of trouble.
Still, the little pegasus was hardly deterred. Something told him that his great grand-uncle had gotten into his fair share of predicaments by trying to be brave. It just meant he had to be more careful with his exploits and pick his battles wisely.
One battle that he became convinced he could win occurred to the little one on a day that was just like any other, until he overheard his parents discussing something of importance. It was apparently something called “Potty Training”, and it was about him becoming a “Big Boy”. It also apparently had to do with getting out of diapers, the soft, disposable undergarments that had hugged the little pegasus’ rear for as long as he could remember. But if he was meant to get out of them and become a “Big Boy”, Flash wasn’t going to protest. He was going to show how brave he was by leading the charge to train himself. But there was just one problem though, he didn’t know what this “Potty Training” was or how he was supposed to do it.
Well, the first of it had something to do with a “pot”. And Flash was sure he had seen a strange, old pot high up on a shelf that had never been used for anything as far as he knew. It was far more fancy than a flower pot, and it even had a handle of some kind. To say nothing of the odd choice of colors that made it look like belonged in a museum. Perhaps that “pot” was part of the “Potty Training”. Well, there was only one way to find out. At least, that’s what the little one thought. And it didn’t involve asking his parents (which might have been the sensible option).
The very next day, taking advantage of a period of time where his parents were currently otherwise occupied, Flash Sentry put his plan into action. He was going to figure out what that mysterious pot was for, and how it played into the “Potty Training” his parents had mentioned. When they came back and realized he had already figured everything out on his own they were sure to be impressed.
Even for a pegasus though, the strange pot was in a place that was really high up. And little Flash’s wings just didn’t have the strength to get him up to it on their own. But just like the time he had successfully stolen a cookie from the cookie jar (though the trail of crumbs left behind had ultimately given him away), the young one wasn’t deterred for even a second.
It was a simple matter to find a suitable “launching pad”, there were plenty of old bowls from nearby drawers that Flash could easily access. With a great deal of wiggling and crinkling (courtesy of his diaper), Flash found one that looked like it would give him the boost he needed. Although it was faint he was starting to feel a familiar urge to tinkle building up inside of him.
“I bet I’m supposed to use that pot instead of my diapers,” Flash thought to himself. “Sitting on it might be a little bit difficult, but I’ll find a way! I always do!”
The little pegasus promptly unfolded his wings as he stood atop the bowl he had selected. He made sure to keep his eyes locked firmly on that strange pot up above. Then with a series of furious flaps he took off, launching himself up and up!
Flash managed to grasp the edge of the shelf where the strange pot rested, but as he tried to pull himself up he instead felt it begin to tilt and slide. “Oh no!” He cried as he tried in vain to stop the process. The pot slid off the shelf and dropped to the floor below. Despite the cloud floor it didn’t fall through, it fell onto the floor itself and broke as Flash’s wings gave out and he plopped to the ground as well.
He landed on his diaper with an audible “Fwoomp!”, and soon heard a faint hissing as his padding swelled up. Normally that wouldn’t bother the little colt, but considering he had been trying to “Potty Train” to suffer an accident like this was… embarrassing to put it lightly. He felt quite ashamed.
As if to make matters worse, Mrs. Sentry happened to have heard the crash and came running! She spotted her son on the floor in front of the broken pot, and in a soggy diaper to boot. “Goodness!” She exclaimed! “What happened here?”
“I try to use pot, Mommy. But I break it,” Flash whimpered. “I not big pony.”
Mrs. Sentry just sighed as she inspected her son and found no signs of injury (aside from perhaps a wounded pride). “Flash, your father and I decided we aren’t going to potty train you just yet. You’re still a bit too young for it. Most ponies don’t start it until they’re at least two and a few months old,” Then she added. “As for the pot, you really needn’t worry. That was just a replica of the old family chamber pot. Your grandfather sold the original years ago.”
At that Flash blinked. “Grandpa sell pot? But why?”
Mrs. Sentry explained as she picked her son up. “Because hardly anypony uses such things anymore. Chamber pots are largely for the upper class, like the nobles. Most everypony upgraded to better things,” She brought her son into the bathroom to get changed, gesturing to a plastic bowl that rested in a corner. “Most ponies your age use those instead. They’re called training potties. Maybe I’ll let you try yours out a little early later, after I take care of the mess you made.” Flash Sentry felt a little bit better upon hearing this. At least he could still figure out this “Potty Training” on his own time, hopefully.
Mrs. Sentry was as good as her word, allowing her son to try out the “training potty” after he’d been wiped clean and after she had taken care of the broken pot.
But Flash, in his eagerness to try and figure out what he was supposed to do, ended up forgetting about his diaper. He knew something was off when he sat upon his potty and knew he was going, but he didn’t hear anything going into his potty. “Oopsie.” He blushed as he only now realized his mistake.
Mrs. Sentry simply sighed and shook her head. “Looks like potty training little Flash is going to take longer than I thought.” She thought to herself.