//------------------------------// // A Question Asked // Story: Foal For A Day // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// No more nightmares plagued Diamond that night. Despite her ongoing anxiety and confusion, the filly somehow managed to fall asleep without too much trouble. Usually on weekends, Tiara enjoyed sleeping in and getting up whenever she felt like it. Today, however, was different. For the pink filly was roused from slumberland in the most unexpected way. “Wake up, my little Diamond.” Spoiled called, poking her drowsy, blanket-wrapped daughter with a single forehoof. Momentarily forgetting she had a pacifier in her mouth, Tiara mumbled through it. “Five more minutes, Mother.” “You’ve been asleep for long enough, it’s time for you to get up,” Spoiled commanded. “Or do you want to miss breakfast, because I’m not letting you raid the fridge later on!” Diamond wasn’t sleeping anymore, and she sat up in her bed to spit out the pacifier in almost ten seconds. It was now that she got a good look at her mother’s face, and was surprised to see her looking sincerely cheerful and upbeat without a hint of malice. “Just who is this pony and what has she done with my mother?” the filly thought to herself. There was no way her mother’s abrupt change in behavior was legitimate. “Good morning sleepyhead,” Spoiled greeted. “I trust you slept well after your little,” she turned and coughed into a hoof before continuing “‘accident’ last night?” Diamond nodded, as her mother bent down to her level to scoop her out of bed. “I hope you haven’t given me any more ‘surprises’, your last one was almost more than I could handle.” “Don’t worry, Mother, I’m dry.” Tiara boasted, for some reason she felt the need to be particularly proud of that fact. “Well, let me just check and make sure,” Spoiled replied, carefully pressing a hoof to the back of her daughter’s pajamas. There was a light crinkle, but no squishing sounds. “Good, all nice and clean.” Spoiled cooed, much to her daughter’s embarrassment. “Can I take off these pjs now Mother, please?” Diamond pleaded with her best pair of puppy dog eyes, as she was set down on the ground. “Of course you may, my dear,” Spoiled nodded. “Your old pajamas should be washed and clean for tonight, if you want me to fetch them for you.” “Why wouldn’t I want my old pjs back?!” Diamond thought to herself. “They may be itchy sometimes, but at least they don’t expose my diapered rear for all of Equestria to see! Not to mention how hard they make it for me to do anything but crawl!” But as she opened her mouth to announce her decision, another part of her mind protested. “All the same, I slept pretty well in them last night. With my old pjs, it usually takes a while for me to fall asleep. Then again, I haven’t exactly tried sleeping after drinking a warm bottle of milk, or sucking on a pacifier. Maybe I should do that more often?” Tiara shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. “Why am I suddenly so excited about stuff like that? I outgrew those things years ago! So why do I seem to like them so much?” “So, what’s your answer?” Spoiled asked her daughter. “If you’d rather stay in these pajamas, that’s fine by me. They’re not as expensive as those silk pajamas, and less of a pain to wash for the staff.” Reluctantly, Tiara sighed and said to her mother. “I guess these pjs aren’t so bad. But I’m only wearing them around the house, got it?!” “Of course dear, as you wish.” Spoiled nodded, and helped her daughter strip down to just her diaper. Spoiled then carefully placed the pajamas on her daughter’s bed next to the pillow. “So, what’s for breakfast?” Diamond reluctantly asked. “You’ll see in a minute,” Spoiled said with a wink. “Shall we adjourn to the dining room, my dear?” “I guess...” Diamond agreed, and followed her mother out of the bedroom. In the dining room, Tiara was seated in the same chair she’d been in last night for dinner. Just like with dinner, the first thing her mother did was tie a bib around her neck. “You did a pretty good job of not making a mess last night, but I’m not taking any chances,” Spoiled insisted, as the mini-apron was fastened. “You just sit tight, and I’ll get breakfast going.” With that, the older mare trotted to the kitchen, leaving Diamond alone with Randolph. Randolph was reclining in the chair to the left of Tiara, a newspaper in one hoof and a coffee mug in the other. But instead of reading the paper like he always did, Randolph’s attention was focused more on the diapered filly sitting next to him. “I heard your cries of distress last night, Mistress Diamond,” he informed her. “I was going to come and check on you, but Mistress Spoiled insisted that she do it instead,” he then fanned a hoof in front of his nose as he commented. “I’d almost forgotten how much of a stinky filly you used to be. I must say, I greatly admire Mistress Spoiled’s ability to endure the stench until you were cleaned.” Ignoring the veteran butler’s surprising obstinance for a moment, Tiara was amazed. “Mother was worried about me?” she asked, as if what Randolph had just said was spoken in a completely foreign language. Randolph nodded. “She couldn’t really explain it, but something maternal inside of her knew that you were in trouble and needed help. In fact, I’d say this entire ‘experiment’ as she calls it, has proven to be efficient in a way that she would never have anticipated.” Tiara was about to ask what Randolph meant by that, when her mother returned with a wooden tray. This time, resting atop it was a bowl of oatmeal with a plastic spoon next to it. “I hope you’re not going to put up a fight this time, Diamond,” Spoiled warned. “This all you’re going to get until lunch time, so I expect you to eat every last drop. Do I make myself clear?!” “Crystal.” Diamond said with a gulp, her mother was always scary when she got angry. Something which the pink filly was way too used to by now. “That’s what I like to hear. A bit of cooperation.” Spoiled grinned, sitting down next to her daughter and carefully setting the bowl of oatmeal down in front of her. “Now, here comes The Canterlot Express!” she cooed, as she dipped the plastic spoon into the oatmeal. “First aeroplanes and now The Canterlot Express? How long has it been since I’ve used such gestures, and why do I care about that fact?” Spoiled thought to herself, as she delicately deposited a spoonful of slop into the eager mouth of her hungry daughter. Despite once again being spoon-fed by her mother, breakfast wasn’t as much of an ordeal for Tiara as dinner had been. Just like before, Tiara felt incredibly full by the time breakfast was concluded, and she once again suspected her mother had secretly gone over portion with the limits that rich ponies were allowed to eat for each meal. “What would you like to do today, my little princess?” Spoiled asked her daughter, once breakfast was over. “Perhaps you would like to throw a tea party for Theodore? Or play with your rattle again? Maybe you would like to try your luck at building another alphabet block tower?” “Actually, Mother… could I go out and spend some time with my friends today?” Diamond reluctantly asked. “Although any of the things you suggested don’t sound half bad.” she thought. “Hang on… what did I just…” “Why do you want to see them so badly? It’s the weekend, and they probably have plans of their own,” Spoiled replied, feeling oddly jealous all of a sudden. “But I don’t have anywhere I need to be today.” “Well, it’s just that…. we secretly made a plan to hang out for a while today,” Diamond lied, hoping her mother wouldn’t catch on. “In fact I ‘Pinkie Promised’ them I’d show up, and you know a ‘Pinkie Promise’ is never broken.” A long and uncomfortable silence followed, as Tiara nervously waited for her mother’s response. If Spoiled said ‘no’, the pink filly wasn’t certain she would be able to find a way to sneak out without being noticed, especially while wearing a restrictive diaper. She could always try bribing Randolph, but the last time she’d attempted such a thing he’d taken the money and ratted her out anyway. At last, Spoiled cleared her throat and announced her decision. “If you really want to hang out with your friends that badly, I won’t stop you. Just make sure to be back by sundown, and wash off any dirt or tree sap you get on you before you come home. I work hard to keep this mansion nice and clean, and I’d like it to stay that way. All of those maids with soapy water and cloths can’t order themselves around, you know.” “Thanks, Mother,” Diamond replied, barely resisting the urge to give her mother a hug. There was just one more thing she knew she needed to ask before she made any plans. “Can I please go without my diaper, at least until I arrive back?” she pleaded, trying to utilize those puppy dog eyes once more. “I don’t want my friends to tease me, or for other ponies to get the wrong idea...” “Absolutely not, I deserve some vengeance for being publicly humiliated in front of the school! Perhaps going out in public with a diaper will make you realize what you put me through!” Spoiled thought angrily to herself. But when she took one look at her daughter, something inside her convinced her that revenge was not the answer, no matter how tempting it might seem. “If that is what you wish, Di-” she said sincerely, while looking down at the ground. “Oh, thank you, Momm… Mother!” Tiara interrupted, quickly correcting herself before another unfortunate slip of the tongue occurred. She proceeded to grasp the diaper’s tabs, and began to undo them. Suddenly though, she was stopped by a stern hoof from her mother. “Not so fast, you didn’t let me finish,” Spoiled continued, adopting a more serious tone this time. “Before you take off that diaper and leave, I want you to use the potty. I don’t want to hear about you having any ‘accidents’ while you’re gone. Having one with a diaper on is one thing, having one without a diaper on is another. And I don’t want passers-by to have to tolerate the same nasty odor I had to deal with last night. Our family name might get a bad reputation, and we can’t have that...” “Okay, okay, Mother. I guess I can go to the bathroom before I leave.” Tiara rolled her eyes. “Good, then I want you to go right now! And you are not to get off the potty until you’ve done your business, understand?!” Spoiled demanded. “It’s just like when she was potty training me as a foal, or at least trying to,” Diamond thought to herself, as she nodded her head in agreement. “And what does she mean, ‘potty’? She’s been using a lot of funny words since yesterday…” Tiara was visibly relieved when her mother allowed her to use the toilet all by herself, even if the older mare still insisted on waiting right outside the bathroom door. For some reason (perhaps because of her accident last night) Diamond felt quite proud of herself for doing her ‘business’ in the toilet this time around, and she was also grateful that wearing a diaper and unintentionally using it, hadn’t adversely affected her ability to control her natural bodily functions. After wiping, flushing, and washing her hooves, the filly was quick to undo the tabs holding her diaper up and let it fall to her knees. What a relief! She then unceremoniously kicked it off, tossing the absorbent (and now, strangely comfortable) undergarment onto the floor. Phew! Now, finally unpadded, the rampaging youngster charged out the front door of her home without saying a word. “Oh please let them be there, please!” Tiara thought to herself, as she raced through town at a speed that would rival Pinkie, on a non-stop journey to Sweet Apple Acres. Strangely enough, a small part of her felt exposed now that she no longer had a diaper on, but she was able to keep that bit of her psyche under wraps for now. Celestia’s sun was high in the sky by the time Diamond reached her destination. The quaint little clubhouse at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres was a welcoming sight for the troubled filly. And what luck, it was occupied! As Tiara trotted up the steps to the treehouse door, she was thinking to herself about how to best phrase the question she wanted to ask. “Should I tell them everything my mother’s been doing? What if they laugh at me, or tease me, or both?!” a part of her mind pondered. Another part thought. “But if I don’t inform them of what my mother’s been doing, how are they going to know what I should do? Even if they do laugh at me, they’ll probably only do it for a little bit. They’re not as bad as I used to be, after all,” A third part of her mind was thinking. “What if I tell them, and they don’t believe me? Or worse, decide to baby me themselves?!” She shook her head, trying to clear out all these conflicting scenarios. “Maybe I’ll just let them know in my own way, and leave out all the ‘unnecessary’ details.” With her mind made up, the filly took a deep breath, and reached a hoof out to knock on the clubhouse door. “I still can’t believe it, after all that time spent waitin’, we’ve finally got our cutie marks!” Apple Bloom beamed proudly. “They sure do look nice,” Scootaloo added, admiring her cutie mark for the umpteenth time. “I especially like the lightning bolt in my shield, it’s a nice touch.” “They are pretty cool,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “But now that we’ve got them, what exactly are we supposed to do? I mean, can we even call ourselves ‘The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ anymore?” “Huh, I never really thought about that,” Apple Bloom realized. “I know we said Babs Seed couldn’t be a crusader after she got her cutie mark, but I never thought about what might happen to us after we got our cutie marks.” “Maybe we can still have these club meetings, but just call ourselves by a different name?” Scootaloo suggested. “I’m sure we can come up with something.” “Like what?” Sweetie Belle asked. “How about Junior Speedsters?” Scootaloo suggested. “Back when Rainbow Dash hung out with this griffon who’s name I can’t remember, she says they often called each other that.” “Isn’t that the name of a flight camp or somethin’?” Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo. “Besides, you’re the only one of us who’s a true ‘speedster’,” Sweetie Belle commented, before she quickly added. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not mine and Apple Bloom’s thing, you know?” “Okay, okay, so maybe Junior Speedsters isn’t the best name for us now,” Scootaloo realized. “It was worth a shot though.” “How about we-” Apple Bloom began, before there came a knock on the clubhouse door. “Who’s there?” The farm filly asked. “Uh, it’s me.” a tiny voice sheepishly called from the other side of the door. “Me, who?” Sweetie Belle asked it’s owner. “It’s me, Diamond Tiara,” the voice replied. “Can I come in please? I mean, I know I’m not officially a crusader or anything, but we’re still friends now, right?” “Of course we are, there’s no need to be shy. Come on in!” Scootaloo said eagerly, moving over to the door and opening it. Sure enough, Tiara came trotting in. “Hello, Diamond,” Apple Bloom greeted cheerfully. “Nice of ya to stop by!” “I wasn’t interrupting anything important, was I?” Diamond asked. Despite having been forgiven by the three former blank flanks, she still didn’t truly feel like she was fully emersed in their group. But then, it had only been a few short days since they’d reached out to her. It was only natural that some wounds would take time to heal, especially the mental ones. “Don’t be silly, of course you weren’t,” Apple Bloom replied with a smile. “You may not be an official crusader yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t consider you an honorary one. And honorary members are always welcome.” “An honorary member? Me?!” Tiara asked, quite surprised by the statement. A single tear appeared in her eye, which she quickly wiped away. “Of course, silly,” Sweetie Belle chuckled. “Now what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at home?” “Well, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you girls about.” Diamond said nervously. “What do you mean?” Scootaloo wondered. “Didn’t you tell your father about your mother’s behavior?” “You’re not running away from home, are you?” Sweetie Belle added, panicking slightly. “I wouldn’t stay here, it gets quite chilly at night.” “No no, it’s nothing like that. I did tell my father about how my mother was treating me and he wasn’t very happy to hear about it.” Tiara replied in a shaky voice. “What did he do?” Apple Bloom asked Diamond Tiara with concern. “Did he believe you?” “Yes, he did. And he chewed out Momm… Mother quite harshly,” Diamond told Apple Bloom, once again just catching herself before the wrong word slipped out. “But he asked me to give her a second chance, and to let her try…. ‘something’ with me this weekend.” “What kind of ‘something’? Nothing illegal, I hope.” Scootaloo asked immediately. Tiara froze, as if she hadn’t been expecting that question to be asked so fast. That was Scootaloo though, always getting to the point. Should she tell them what her mother had been doing with her? Would they even believe her? “Well, it’s…. just something I’d rather not talk about. But, it’s not illegal or dangerous, let’s leave it at that...” she said at last, hoping none of them had noticed the faint blush on her cheeks. “But if she’s supposed to be doing it this weekend, then why are you here and not at home doing it with her?” Sweetie Belle spoke up following a period of silence, her curiosity piqued. “Because, what Momm… Mother’s been doing has left me feeling a bit ‘confused’ for lack of a better term.” Diamond replied. “I see,” Apple Bloom said, in a tone which made Diamond suspect Apple Bloom knew more than she was letting on. If the farm filly felt that way, she certainly didn’t make it known as she added. “Well, why do you feel so confused? Is it somethin’ you don’t like doin’, but want to do anyway?” “Not really.” Diamond answered. “Did you agree to give your mom another chance, before she started doing all of this?” Sweetie Belle inquired. “Yup.” Diamond nodded. She wanted to say more, but the words wouldn’t come out. “So then, what’s troubling you? Your mom’s not trying to make you act like her again, is she? If she is, you can tell us,” Scootaloo insisted. “Heck, it’s fine if you’re actually running away from home because of that. We can help you.” Tiara shook her head. “Mother isn’t trying to make me act like her, in fact she seems to be undergoing something of a transformation in personality. She still does behave like she always has, but lately it seems like she’s started to change. The thing is though, I don’t know if it’s actually true or not. I want to believe it, but a part of me says it’s impossible for my mother to be somepony else after all these years.” There was a long, pregnant pause. None of the Crusaders said anything, they just huddled together in the corner as if they believed Diamond might be trying to hide something from them. She was just glad to get a break from the barrage of questions. Was it her imagination though, or were the three of them somehow able to read her mind to know what she was really thinking? Considering how strong their link was, even down to their defining cutie marks, she wouldn’t put it past them. At last, Apple Bloom broke the silence as she said to Diamond. “As long as your mother ain’t tryin’ to make you act like her, and as long as you agreed to give her a second chance, I say you should continue to go through with whatever it is she’s doin’ with you.” “That is, unless there’s something we don’t know about. We’re not trying to be nosy, we’re just concerned about you, that’s all.” Sweetie Belle added. “I-I…” Diamond began, only to stutter as the words failed to form properly. “You don’t have to tell us if you really don’t want to,” Scootaloo told Diamond, putting a friendly hoof around her neck. “We learned our lesson the hard way about invading other ponies privacy, and we’re not about to ignore that lesson. Just know that we’ll always be here if you change your mind, or if there’s something else bothering you.” After a minute’s consideration, Diamond shook her head and said. “It’s nothing, forget it. I guess you three have a point,” with a sigh she added. “I agreed to give Momm… Mother a second chance, even if it means having to put up with something a bit unusual. I’m no better than she is if I go back on my promise.” With those parting words, the pink filly trotted out the clubhouse door, down the clubhouse steps, and set off for home at a gallop. “Just what was that all about?” Sweetie Belle scratched her head in bewilderment. “I can’t help but feel like whatever Diamond Tiara’s going through at home is something she’s too embarrassed to admit to,” Scootaloo concluded. “I know how that feels. There are things I do at home I don’t think I’d ever be comfortable admitting to in front of other ponies. Even you girls.” “Anypony else find it odd how she almost kept referrin' to her mother as somethin’ else?” Apple Bloom asked her fellow crusaders. “So I wasn’t hearing things!” Scootaloo realized. “I was wondering why she kept doing that. I think I know what she wanted to say, and I can see why she wouldn’t want to say such a thing in front of a crowd.” “Do you think we made the right choice telling her to give whatever her mother’s doing with her a chance?” Sweetie Belle asked, swallowing hard. “What if we’ve accidentally made things worse instead of better?” “Somehow I doubt that very much,” Apple Bloom said with confidence. “Call it a hunch, but I get the feelin’ everythin’s goin’ to work out just fine. Now then, why don’t we head down to Sugarcube Corner for some milkshakes? You know, to congratulate ourselves on our cutie marks?” “Sounds good to me!” Sweetie Belle said cheerfully. “And me too!” Scootaloo said, her wings buzzing in excitement. “Along the way, maybe we can find a pony with a cutie mark problem,” Apple Bloom suggested, then she secretly added. “Or maybe we can make one.” “What was that you just said, Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked, as the friends made their way outside. “Oh, nothin’, nothin’ at all.” the farm filly chuckled to herself. Her plan would not be unraveled that easily.