Daring Do was somewhat stunned as she woke up to the sensation of her flank being wiped. The filly looked up to see a massive cat. The cat in question had a bright blue coat and a gray mane. The giant cat looked down at her charge with a smile. "Hello, child. I'm sorry, but you were quite soaked. Luckily, I came by before you could get a rash."
The little adventurer was surprised as she looked down to see the cat had wipes and a diaper bag around her. Ahuizotl was nearby in a clean diaper, seeming to have recently changed as he now had a bottle in his mouth. Daring Do was somewhat surprised at who this bigger cat was. Still, using context clues, she had to be related to Ahuizotl somehow.
"When Ahuizotl told me what had happened, I had to come here as soon as possible," The older cat cooed as she continued the diaper change.
Daring was somewhat confused about who this older cat was. "Who are ya?"
"Oh dear, I can't understand you. But if you're wondering who I am, I'm Ahuizotl's mother." The older cat chimed as she finished strapping the pegasus in a diaper. She couldn't help but snicker as Ahuizotl grumbled. "Mama, don't embarrass me in front of my nemesis!"
"Well, maybe if you weren't so naughty and trying to cause havoc in the Tenochtitlan basin, you wouldn't be a kitten right now!" The cat scolded her son, who quivered in front of her. She turned to Daring and bowed. "I apologize for my son's behavior. He loves history and archeology but gets so obsessed with his schemes."
The pegasus couldn't help but giggle as Ahuizotl started to get pouty and snapped. "Shut it, Daring Do! I'm not the only one in diapers," The older cat glared at her son, and the young kitten squeaked quickly. "Sorry, Mama!"
The older cat then turned her attention to Daring Do and said. "So, I assume my son was the one who pushed you?"
Ahuizotl placed a paw over his chest and exclaimed. "No, I didn't! I thought a pool would give me immortality, so I took a dip. But when I noticed my body shrinking, I got out as soon as possible. It wasn't long until I realized that I had turned into a baby kitten instead! Tats, why I sent ya a letter for help."
Daring nodded, trying to convey that what Ahuizotl was saying was true.
"Then, what happened to Daring Do?" The older cat asked.
"She was pushed into the water by a meanie pony," Ahuizotl explained.
The cat nodded and taped a paw to her chin. "I see; well, as much as I would love to baby my son again, we better get you two back to your original age. By the way, how did you send me a letter in the middle of nowhere?"
Ahuizotl pouted. "Well, a weird, gray-coated pegasus landed in ta jungle. She was odd with her eyes looking weird, and she seemed rather stupid. I was able to write a letter and asked her to send it to ya for help."
"Well, that explains all the grammatical errors," Ahuizotl's mom said with a smile. "We might need her again as I have experience caring for you. But I don't know how to care for a baby pegasus. I don't have any paper or anything to write with me. So how about you two hop on my back, and we can talk more at Daring's place?" The older cat suggested as she placed the two babies onto her back and then sprinted through the jungle.
Applejack woke up one morning, but something was off. Everything was much bigger than it seemed to be: The walls appeared to have grown around her. The farm mare then got down from her bed with a plop as she was much smaller and seemed chubbier than usual. Thanks to the poison joke, she had shrunk before, but this was much different. In fact, she felt as if her entire being was different from how she thought, being hungry and craving milk.
Applejack got up on her new stumpy legs and slowly shuffled her way through the room. The filly was rather clumsy as she stumbled about on her heavy hooves, not as coordinated as when she was an adult. Luckily, she didn't fully close her door, though she still had to get on her hind legs and push it open.
At that moment, Big Mac came trotting out of his room. But he was now a chubby, red-coated little colt.
"Oh no! Ya got turned into a baby too?!" Applejack exclaimed, somewhat surprised to see her brother looking so young and chubby. His muscles must've turned into baby fat. The little colt seemed just as confused as he waddled aimlessly.
The chubby colt plopped on his chubby flank as he crossed his hooves over his chest and gave an: "Eyyup!"
Applejack eyed the colt and asked. "And ya dun remember how this happened?"
Big Mac shook his head. "Eynope."
"Then we need to find out how tis happened and how we gonna get back ta normal!" Applejack vowed. She and her brother waddled downstairs, where they found Apple Bloom, who was also now a chubby foal, bawling her eyes out.
Apple Bloom turned to see her siblings coming towards her and cried, "Applejack, Big Mac, What is goin' on here?!" She was somewhat scared at what had happened and shuffled towards them. Applejack then took her little sister and hugged her as best she could. "Hey, Apple Bloom, it's otay."
Big Mac joined in, and the three held each other when Apple Bloom calmed down. She wiped the tears from her eyes and asked. "Seriously, what happened?! How did we all turn into babies?!"
Applejack gave a sigh as she shrugged, then said. "I dun know, but we'll figure tis out. Zecora or Twilight will know what's goin' on. They'll be able to help us reverse tis."
They then heard somepony shout. "Yay, I'm young again!" The three ran into the living room, where they found Granny Smith, who was now running around the house, giggling and squealing in delight.
Applejack, however, was getting concerned at seeing her grandmother getting out of control, so she shouted! "Granny, stop runnin' around! Ya gonna hurt yaself!"
"I'm fine! I got so much energy!" Granny Smith cheered as she started to jump up and down on the couch.
"Stop tat! Ya, just a baby, Granny!" Applejack pleaded!
"Who cares?! I not gonna wet tis opportunity go to waste!" Granny Smith laughed as she bounced off the couch and booped her granddaughter's nose. "I haven't felt this good in forever, and now ya gotta call me Filly Smith!"
Applejack tore at what little was left of her mane! "Ugh! You know Granny Smith is the name of an apple, not because of your age, wight?!"
"Who cares?!" The green-coated little filly laughed as she continued running around the house. Then there was a knock on the door, and it swung open, revealing Flim and Flam, and standing between the two were two older mares.
Applejack recognized one as Mayor Mare. The other she didn't know who she was, but the mare looked a lot like Flim and Flam. In fact, she could only assume the mysterious mare was their mother. Applejack narrowed her vision at the three and growled, "I knew it! You two were behind tis!"
"Oh my, it looks as if I was right"! The older mare gasped as she placed a hoof over her face.
"Yes, it seems that you were right. We better get these foals in diapers before they start making a mess all over the place!" Mayor Mare exclaimed, somewhat bewildered by what she was seeing.
At this sound, the four foals ran off as none of them wanted to wear a diaper (even if they might need it). But the older mare just smirked and said. "Leave it to me," She then went after Apple Bloom first, hugging her and putting a bottle right into her mouth with the contents slowly coming down the filly's throat. The middle-aged unicorn then started to calm her down. The mare placed her aside, began to strap the padding over Big Mac's waist, and cooed. "Come on, stop being fussy."
The colt snapped. "Eynope."
"Hmm, guess I'll tickle you, then," The older unicorn mare replied. She then took out a feather and ticked the colt's belly. It wasn't long until Big Mac was on the floor, giggling and kicking uncontrollably. Only then did the older mare cease in her tickling as she then asked. "Now, do you want me to stop?"
"Eeyup!" Big Mac squeaked as he now had the sudden urge to pee.
"Ok, dear," The mare responded as she took out a diaper. "Come on, sweetie. Let's get you diapered up. Hold still, please," He blushed as he felt the need to tinkle and nodded as she was then powdered and strapped him up in a diaper. She tickled him more, making him pee a little as she snickered. "See? Good thing you have a diaper on, huh? Otherwise, you would've peed all over the floor."
"Eeyup." Big Mac meekly replied, though slightly relieved he hadn't peed himself in front of his siblings. That was a humiliation he was sure he'd never live down.
The unicorn mare then turned to see Granny Smith running about and effortlessly chased her down, strapping the filly in a diaper. She then plopped Granny Smith into a playpen that Flim and Flam had set up.
Granny Smith quickly got sidetracked, bouncing about in her diaper rather adorably.
The older unicorn then started to look around for Applejack.
As it so happened, the regressed farm mare had tried to escape out the back, only to find out she couldn't open the door. She tried bucking it a few times until she was panting and out of breath. The little filly then tried standing up on her hind legs to reach for the doorknob. But then the little filly suddenly felt a soft, crinkly fabric hugging her waist. "What the buck is this!?"
"Aww, it's ok, sweetie. Auntie Swindle's got you," The mare chimed as she levitated Applejack and then placed her into a highchair where she saw the rest of her family sitting around the dining table in highchairs. The older mare then started to talk to Mayor Mare rather casually. "You see? They can't take care of themselves and need supervision. Lucky for you, I have a ton of experience with foals."
"Swindle," then mashed up some apples, stirred them with milk, and spoon-fed the foals. Apple Bloom and Big Mac meekly ate their food without raising a fuss; meanwhile, Granny was making a mess. Applejack was the most hesitant, trying to avoid her spoon. Still, when the mare tickled Applejack's belly, she got it into her mouth.
"Well, you are rather responsible and seem to know what you're doing, Miss Swindle," Mayor Mare commented after a moment of silent contemplation. "I'll have you sign a form to give you temporary guardianship, but we will need more research on the creature that did this to them."
"Yes, of course. I saw the beast with my own eyes: It was a snake with a rattle for a tale." Ms. Swindle explained that she continued to feed the foals with her magic simultaneously without even breaking contact as she signed a form.
Applejack tried to whine and tell Mayor Mare that this Swindle pony had to be behind their age regression. Still, everything came out as incoherent baby gibberish.
"Well, you know your sons have caused some issues in our town before, don't you?" Mayor Mare pointed out.
"Yes, I've heard. But don't worry, I'll have them do all the chores and make sure that the Apples' lives aren't altered forever for this," Miss Swindle then turned towards her sons and asked them. "You are sorry for trying to take the Apples' farm away, right?"
"Yes, Mother, dear." Flim and Flam simultaneously grumbled, somewhat reluctant to apologize.
Mayor Mare let out a laugh. "Well, it seems they behave when you're around. I guess even ponies like them fear crossing their mother when they've done wrong," She then turned away. "I'll file away the form and make your temporary guardianship official. Please keep an eye on your sons. I don't want to be hearing about any more scams."
"Of course, Mayor, they'll behave as long as I'm around." Miss. Swindle responded as she waved a hoof.
After the mayor left, the older mare hummed took the foals to the playpen and plopped them among a bunch of toys she had bought. "Don't worry; I'm not here to take your farm. I honestly don't know what turned you all into foals. I know you four have a history with my sons, and I assure you I'm your guardian, not them. They will work on bucking your trees. Now, in the meantime, play for a bit. I'm going to inform Twilight about what happened to you."
Miss. Swindle then got up and walked out the door.
Applejack clambered over the plastic fence that enclosed the playpen and tried to follow Miss Swindle. But as she reached the door, she saw an automatic foal lock placed near the upper part of the door, making it impossible to escape out the front. The little filly turned her head to see Miss. Swindle had also placed a baby gate across the hall that led to the kitchen, locking the four foals in the living room.
Big Mac then stood up on his back legs. "Hey, Applejack. Maybe Miss. Is Swindle tellin' the truth? She doesn't seem like her sons at all."
Applejack shook her head; despite Ms. Swindle being nice, there was something odd about her. "I don't trust her one bit. And we shouldn't rely on her to get us back to normal. I need help practicin' my buckin', so maybe I can bust us out of here. She knows more than she's lettin' on."
"Otay." Big Mac replied as he started to stack giant foam blocks on top of each other. When he made a tower, Applejack would buck them down, and they soon started getting into a rhythm of play as their foalish nature took over.
Rainbow Dash woke up one morning to a loud knock and came to the door groggy. She lazily maneuvered herself to the door and opened it, and there, to her surprise, was Derpy standing before her with her blank smile.
"Uh, you're Rainbow Dash, right?" Derpy asked.
"Yes, Derpy, it's me; what's up?" Rainbow Dash responded with a yawn.
"I have an important letter to give you." Derpy then took out a letter from her satchel.
Rainbow Dash took the letter and examined it. She then burst out laughing at what she read. "This has to be a prank! If A.K. Yearling is pregnant, why doesn't she say it? Turning into a baby. As if!" The daredevil snickered as she stowed the letter away, thinking it must be some way to hide that the author was pregnant and needed help.
Rainbow Dash then flew off towards Ponyville as she was going to see her, of course, but she wanted to show it to Applejack to get a laugh out of her. But as Rainbow Dash neared her friend's house, she could hear odd noises like babbling and crinkling. She then slowly opened the door and gasped to see Applejack and the rest of her family were all foals!
Applejack herself was bucking foam blocks, Apple Bloom was drawing on papers with a crayon, Big Mac was chewing on his hoof while showing off his poofy diaper while throwing his back legs in the air, and Granny Smith was napping nearby with her hoof in her mouth, drooling.
Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, then slapped her face to ensure she was awake. But no matter what she did, the ponies before here were still adorable, pudgy foals. "What the hay is going on here?!"
Flim and Flam then entered the room, looking sweaty and exhausted from apple-bucking as they both turned to her and shouted! "What are you doing here?!"
"You two!" Rainbow snarled as she flew over and pointed a hoof into their faces. "Did you turn my friend and her family into babies?!"
Before the two could even answer, Rainbow Dash heard a mare shout. "No, they didn't!" The daredevil turned to see a taller unicorn (who looked much like Flim and Flam standing over her). "I fear they came across a creature that can turn ponies into babies. I already informed Twilight of the situation."
"That's total nonsense! You three did this to take Applejack's farm; I know it! You did this just so you could take over!" Rainbow Dash snapped back.
The middle-aged mare shook her head. "My sons and I found these poor babies alone and with no pony to care for them. Now you can visit and even play with Applejack or her family. But they are to remain in our care until we find a cure and revert them back to normal."
"Oh, buck this!" Rainbow Dash picked up Applejack, gently plopped the filly onto her back, and then said, "Well then, you wouldn't mind if I take Applejack to Twilight and see if she can turn her back to normal, would you?"
"That's fine," The mare said with a smirk. "Just make sure she's back here by nightfall if she's not cured."
"Yeah, we'll see about that!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew off with Applejack clinging to her mane. She didn't trust Flim and Flam, let alone their mother, something fishy was going on, and she'll prove that those three returned her friend into a foal.
Later that afternoon, Rainbow Dash arrives at the Golden Oak Library with Applejack clinging to her mane. She gasped for breath as she did her best to explain to Twilight what she'd seen and the strange letter she'd received from A K Yearling.
Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. "So let me get this straight: Your theory is that Flim and Flam's mother, Miss. Swindle used Daring Do to find the fountain of youth, then used those same waters to turn the Apples into babies? Then lied to Mayor Mare and made it look like they just found them? And somehow manipulated things to become the legal guardians of the Apples, so her sons could take the farm?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Rainbow Dash sighed, scratching her head. "That does sound far-fetched, but it's starting to make sense seeing that A. K. Yearling had no idea who her client was. And it's not like the Apples to have just regressed without any notice."
Twilight then replied. "Well then, it's clear what we need to do. Rainbow Dash, you need to go to Daring Do and help her find a way to turn back to normal. Then bring the cure back here so we can also turn the Apples back to normal. Meanwhile, I'll do my best to inform the princesses of the situation and see if we can overturn the temporary guardianship."
Rainbow Dash gave her friend a salute and then said. "Ok, that sounds like a plan, Twilight!" But as the pegasus was about to soar off, Twilight cleared her throat. Rainbow Dash was a bit confused and asked. "What's up? Am I forgetting something?"
Twilight bowed her head, seeming to be a bit embarrassed as she whispered, "Before you go, I assume Daring Do doesn't have any foal supplies; I suggest stopping by the general store and picking some stuff up: You're going to need diapers, wipes, foal powder, baby food, formula…."
"Ok, I get it! Just write me a list, and I'll get that stuff!" Rainbow Dash groaned: As excited as she was to help Daring Do, she wasn't excited to be changing her diapers. She could find a way to teach the adventurer how to use a toilet or, failing that least, do her business in nature.
Twilight nodded as she wrote down what her friend would need.
Once Rainbow Dash had the list, she flew off to a nearby foal supply store. She could only hope that Daring Do was somehow researching how to turn back to normal and this could all be over fast!