Actually, it's this year that marks the ten year anniversary of this group. The old Padded Ponies and Adult Foals group shut down around late January/early February of 2014, and this group was ultimately errected to take its place. I'll do something special for that milestone when it hits. For now, though, let's look back at what 2023 had to offer from the padded pony scene. There was a good mix of G4 and G5 this time around, mostly from veterans (including one we hadn't heard from in years). Like always, this is just my personal opinion. By all means, feel free to discuss what padded pony fics you think should've gotten the nod.

The rules are the same as they always were, and I'm going to repeat them just in case we have any newcomers not familiar with them. The rules are as follows:
1. The fic must've been published or updated at least once within 2023. For those that updated, check to see if they were included in any previous top ten lists and try to avoid the exact same placement for updated fics if possible.
2. Only one entry per author is allowed. Self explanatory, we don't want the list being dominated by one or two writers, we want even lesser known authors to have a chance to stand out. And we also want to put the spotlight on less frequently seen writers if they wrote something really group.
3. As these groups are technically SFW no linking to any of the fics may be allowed, some will inevitably be rated Mature and site rules forbid direct linking to any NSFW content (which a Mature rating comes with by default).
4. Self promotion is allowed, like always, but as much as possible avoid putting a story you wrote yourself at number one. Try to give another author top billing, even if you think you wrote something really good.
5. Give a brief explanation about why you chose the fics you did and anything you like about them. Think of it as a way to potentially lure other readers to them.
6. Honorable mentions are allowed, but like with previous versions I ask that you restrict them to three to five at the most. We don't want these lists getting too cluttered.

And now, here are my picks for the Top Ten Padded Pony fics of 2023!:

10. Little By Little, by Naptime: Flurry Heart is rather underrepresented in the padded pony scene despite the fact that she's one of only two baby characters (the other being the Cake twins), and there are even fewer stories focused on her with either of her parents. So anything focusing on that is always welcome and appreciated. This is just a simple little story about Shining Armor mentally regressing while caring for Flurry Heart, but I like how he still retains at least some of his independence by the end. And I'm guessing it's up to viewer interpretation whether Flurry Heart or Cadence is the one mentally regressing him, either intentionally or unintentionally.

9. Sunny's Day Off, by Badguy400: Although the formatting and narrative style are a bit off putting, this is still a sweet little story about Sunny accidentally mentally regressing and her friends having to care for her. There's actually a rather interesting twist towards the end that I dare not spoil, but it involves how to change Sunny back and how she feels about it. Sunny truly feels like the G5 character who would most likely be an AB/DL, even if so far Sprout, Pipp, and even Misty have been outclassing her in the padded artwork department. So anything padded pony related with Sunny is always nice.

8. Retired Princesses, Nightwear's Playthings, by Arbanis: It's been a few years since Arbanis did a padded pony story. This one actually isn't related (at least not directly) to his (or her) dreamscape stories, but it has a similar concept. It's a story about Princess Luna creating a Nightmare Moon statue in her dreams, which comes to life and begins manipulating Celestia and Luna's dreams to get them to wear and use diapers, and slowly mentally regress them. I do feel like there was a missed opportunity for the ex-royal sisters to at least find out what was going on, and there are a few details I'm curious about that didn't get explained. But this buzzer beater for 2023 was still a fantastic last minute addition in my opinion.

7. It takes a Kingdom to Raise a Draconequus, by Foal Star: While I've usually been partial to Foal Star's age regression universe (still going strong in 2023 with two more additions, I might add), this time I felt a stronger attachment to this story involving a baby Discord in an AU from Season 2 onwards. Though not the first time a baby Discord has been part of a story, this one makes a stronger use of the concept, especially since Discord has often been compared to a spoiled child used to getting his own way. So far, the story is mostly focused on cute sheninigans related to Discord learning how to control his chaos magic and use it for the right reasons. What lies in store for it for 2024 remains to be seen.

6. Sweetie's Little Accident, by The Killer Legacy: Coming back and ultimately wrapping up for good this year, this fanfic decided to go a bit AU and did so in a very big way. Picking up from where the last update two years prior left off, this fic had Sweetie Belle come to grips with her love of diapers and acting like a baby, and Rarity making peace with the fact that she's a caretaker for Sweetie Belle (as all little ones need someone to take care of them). I don't dare spoil the climax and what Sweetie Belle does, but suffice it to say it most certainly commands attention.

5. "Zipp and the Case of the Brighthouse Baby", by freedome blitz: A collab I got to be part of, and one born from a rather interesting artwork piece. This three part story is simple: Zipp catches Sunny in a diaper and ends up becoming Sunny's caretaker at the Brighthouse. Told first from Zipp's perspective, then from Sunny's, and then from Zipp's again, this story is rather cute and lets Zipp take up that caring big sister role she's so well suited to. As I said before, Sunny feels like she would be the most likely to be an AB/DL, and any artwork or stories exploring that concept are always enjoyable to me.

4. Raving Rocks, by SuperPinkBrony12: Of all the padded pony stories I did this year, this is the one I'm most proud of and for good reason. MaudxMudbriar is an underappreciated ship, and I'm always happy to explore underlooked ships or pairings, canon or otherwise. I'm always trying to break new ground for padded pony fics, and so this one was about exploring ageplay and the world of AB/DL from the perspective of an established couple. Plus, it gave me an excuse to break out my O.C., which I haven't had a use for in about a decade now. And I felt like building on the universe of "Something to Rave About" and its sequels, so I had it take place in an underground club in Ponyville.

3. To Be Cared For, by Nido_King: This story left off on an interesting note last time, and I was so happy to see it be continued in 2023. Now we finally get to the part I think almost everyone was waiting for: Silverstream becoming a baby and being cared for by an actual caretaker. Of course, having Silverstream confide her feelings in someone else and come to learn that it's totally acceptable for her to feel that way is a nice touch too. I'm honestly quite surprised that Silverstream hasn't been more of a subject for padded pony works given her bubbly personality and child-like curiosity. Hey, any padded pony stories featuring the student/young six are always appreciated.

2. Sprout's Second Chance, by milesprower06: Definitely more on the kinky side of things, but I like how this tied into the themes of self-exploration and self-discovery. How the main characters of G5 are exploring new roles and new interests while adapting to new changes in their lives. In particular, Sprout opening up to Hitch and the two developing a romantic relationship really does a lot to flesh out Sprout. The sub-arc with Pipp was an interesting touch too, as was Sunny continuing to build her connections with Izzy and Zipp. In the end, everypony got a chance to do something. Heck, even Hitch padded up and used a diaper, something I wasn't expecting. For a long time, it was the reigning champ of padded pony works for 2023, so what knocked it off? Well, you're about to find out.

1. The Sissy in Shining Armor, by The Conflicted Writer: This was actually the remnants of what was going to be a much larger story originally, but was shelved and ultimately cancelled. It's been over half a decade since The Conflicted Writer wrote a padded pony story, and his big return did not disappoint in the slightest. At a time when so many alternative lifestyles are coming under fire just because people don't understand it or fear it, it's nice to see fanfics remind us that the most important thing these people seek is acceptance and understanding. Even if Shining Armor has gotten more than his fair share of padded pony works over the years, this one really did a lot to explore how it would affect his relationship with Cadence, as well as his conflicted feelings about seeking out things that go against what he was taught about what it means to be masculine. If this is the last padded pony story we'll ever see from The Conflicted Writer, it's a fantastic swan song. And therefore I believe it's worthy of being the number one padded pony story of 2023.

Honorable Mention 1 - April Foal, by Runic Script: This looked like it was going to be a very promising story about Vinyl Scratch unknowingly being hypnotized by Octavia into being a big baby. Despite the padded artwork featuring her, Vinyl so far has largely been a caretaker in padded pony works, the only noticeable stories where she was padded have been the "Something to Rave About" universe. Sadly, after just one chapter published on April Fool's Day, this fic has not been updated again and there's been no word from the creator about what happened to it.

Honorable Mention 2 - Princess Pamper Precedent, by slushy: Despite promising to feature all the princesses, so far this story has only focused on Princess Celestia trying to figure out a mystery about how and why she is padded. After only four chapters, all in the first three months of 2023, there's been silence since and no word on when (if ever) we can expect an update. A shame, really.

Honorable Mention 3 - Starlight Glimmer's Time Travel Mishap, by Foal Star: At first it seemed like this story would just be Starlight Glimmer being stuck as a foal after trying to go back in time like she did in "The Cutie Re-Mark". And indeed, that's where the story initially went. But now it has blossomed into more of a time travel story, complete with the usual tropes about whether or not it's a good idea to mess with the past and how it might affect the future. Considering we're now getting to the end of Season 5 and into Season 6, I'm curious as to how this will play out across Foal Star's age regression AU.

Honorable Mention 4 - Super Sunset RPG, by Wandering Pigeon: Just one update from this story this year, more of a progress report than anything else. I suppose Wandering is going for a quality over quantity approach, and that's perfectly understandable. At the same time, I do wish we could see more of this story more often, I'm really curious as to how it will all end and whether there will be a "bad" ending for Sunset.

Honorable Mention 5 - Pipp's Padded Livestream: Well, when Pipp has been getting the lion's share of padded artwork, how could I not do a story featuring her as an AB/DL? Her and Izzy have frequently been paired up together in canon, so I figured it made sense to have her join Izzy (or rather have Izzy join Pipp) for some ageplay. This was my most popular padded pony work of 2023, so clearly it must've been doing something right. But I feel a stronger attachment to "Raving Rocks", hence why this is only an honorable mention.

And there you have it. Go ahead and talk about any padded pony fics from 2023 you enjoyed and would've loved to see on this list.