Daring Do and the Fountain of Youth

by Foal Star

Chapter three: Rainbow Dash and the Adorable Daring Do

Later that day, Rainbow Dash wound up at the cottage Daring Do called home. She was riding with Derpy and had a diaper bag strapped around her waist with tons of foal supplies and a chariot full of other things: A crib, a playpen, toys, you name it. Twilight had wanted to ensure they had everything as they had no idea how long they'd be caring for baby Daring Do.

The rainbow-maned pegasus shivered as she couldn't believe she would see her favorite author and idol (not counting the Wonderbolts) as a baby. It was a lot to come to terms with, but it also made her feel a bit giddy, seeing that A. K. Yearling was going to owe her big time.

The pegasi eventually made it to the house in the middle of nowhere, and Rainbow knocked on the door. She was surprised by a giant cat who looked much like Daring Do's nemesis Ahuizotl, but she was much older and seemed calmer. But she had bags under her eyes and green stains all over her coat. "Oh, thank Celestia, you're here!"

"Yeah, we are." Rainbow Dash replied; she then was escorted inside, and there in the middle of A. K. Yearling's kitchen, was the mare herself. But she was now a little filly sitting in a highchair alongside Ahuizotl, both strapped up in diapers and wearing little bibs around their necks. Their coats were covered in splotches of green goo.

"I was trying to feed the two, but as you see, they got rather fussy." The older cat responded with an exasperated sigh.

Derpy dawwed as she came over. "I can help a little. This isn't the first time I've had to care for a little one." She then took the bowls of baby food and helped spoon-feed the foals, making noises and coos as she did, thus distracting the babies as she continued to feed them.

Rainbow Dash, for her part, rubbed her eyes a few times to be sure she wasn't somehow seeing things. The truth was the foals were still there, the adventurer A. K. Yearling and Ahuizotl, both being fed baby food.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but I need help unloading all the foal stuff." The older cat responded.

Rainbow sighed. "Yea…we should do that, huh?" She and the older cat then spent most of the afternoon moving the foal stuff into A. K. Yearling's house: Setting up a playpen filled with foal toys in the living room, getting a crib upstairs, baby gates for the stairs, and setting up the diaper changing area in a bathroom nearby.

Rainbow still thought this was some dumb dream, and she would wake up any second. But as they made it to the kitchen and the two babies were still there with bottles of milk in their mouths, she finally had to realize this wasn't a dream. She then turned to the older cat and asked. "So…I assume you're Ahuizotl's mother or something, right?"

The older cat put a paw over her chest. "That's correct. I'm Ahuizotl's mom. Pleased to meet you."

Rainbow Dash then asked. "And your name?"

"Just call me Reina." The cat replied.

"All right, Reina, what's going on?" Rainbow demanded. "How did Daring Do and Ahuizotl become babies?! Who or what did this to them?! It had to be something!"

Reina waved a paw and took Rainbow to Daring Do's study, where the adventurer wrote her books and did her research. There a map and a book were laid out on a small desk. Reina explained. "I believe there is an ancient underground river known as the fountain of youth. Its waters reverse the ages of time on a mortal's body, but if drunk or doused in its water, you'll revert to an infant."

"So, Ahuizotl pushed her, right?" Rainbow asked with narrowed eyes. It sounded like something he would do.

Reina shook her head from side to side. "No, it was a mysterious mare. We don't know who she was. Or at least, that's what my son claims."

"Ok…" Rainbow nodded as she began thinking about Mrs. Swindle. "Daring Do said that in her letter."

Reina blushed and replied. "Sorry, but I wrote that letter; I used Daring Do's name to get you to come over. I apologize for the deceit, but I had to do something."

"Right… she's just a baby now," Rainbow sighed and then looked over the notes. "So, you found a cure, right?! Right?!"

"Not exactly," Reina confessed. "I learned there are a few ancient temples nearby, but I can't seem to locate which one would have the cure. My son tried to teach me this stuff, but it's rather confusing."

Rainbow smirked, brimming with confidence. "Well, you're talking to a pony who's read every Daring Do book. I'll help find a cure!"

"That's great! And will Derpy be staying too?" Reina asked in a hopeful tone of voice. "She seems rather capable with foals."

Rainbow paused and, after thinking for a moment, shook her head. "Sadly, no. We need her help getting messages between Twilight and me for now. Let's say there have been some 'developments' in Ponyville. That mysterious mare Ahuizotl mentioned: We know who she might be, and she's turned one of my friends into a foal."

"Oh my! What for?!" Reina gasped!

"I…I think she's after my friend's farm," Rainbow replied. "Long story short, her sons tried to take it through a dumb bet. They're back for revenge, and the fountain of youth was part of it."

Ahuizotl's mother nodded ever so slowly. "Makes sense. We'll have to do research while the babies are asleep. But when they're awake, we need to supervise them; we obviously can't leave them unattended."

"Ok, sounds like a plan to me." Rainbow chirped, and she wrote a letter to Twilight explaining their situation. After writing the letter, she returned to the living room, where Derpy played with the babies.

The gray-coated pegasus mare looked up. "Hey, Rainbow, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, it should be," Rainbow nodded. "Listen, Derpy, we'll need your help delivering messages between Twilight and myself. I'm sorry for asking this. And since I have no idea how long things will be like this, can you also deliver foal supplies?"

Derpy nodded back as she took the letter. "It's ok, Rainbow; I'll do anything to help. I might not always get my packages delivered to the right places, but I understand how serious this is. Are you sure you don't want me to stay, though? You haven't cared for foals before. I have."

Rainbow sighed as she explained, "I would love for you to care for Daring Do while I fly back and forth. But I also know the most about Daring Do and her adventures, so I'll know what to research and find out how to cure her…so I have no choice but to care for her myself."

"Right…I understand," Derpy smiled. "But before I go, maybe I can teach you a few things."

"You would?" The rainbow maned pegasus asked.

"Yeah, honestly, Daring's much easier than normal foals, so it shouldn't be too bad," Derpy replied as she picked the little adventurer up and tapped her diaper. "Oh my, she's soaked. This is a great time to show you how to change a diaper."

Reina giggled as Rainbow Dash groaned. "Alright, might as well get this over with. Hope I don't have to do this very often."

---

Rainbow Dash was now in A. K. Yearling's bathroom, and there she had the little adventurer laid out on a changing table.

Derpy stood by, explaining the process of changing the diaper. "Alright, first you gotta unstrap the diaper."

Rainbow did so and gave a gagging sound smelling the urine. She then took a wipe and cleaned Daring up as instructed by Derpy. Daring Do squeaked as she shivered. "Oh, pony feathers! Did I do something wrong?"

"No, the wipe is cold," Derpy encouraged. "Just keep cleaning her up."

Rainbow Dash nodded and did as Derpy said, continuing to wipe A.K. Yearling down. Then she asked. "Ok, now what?"

"Now take the foal powder and put enough on her to ensure she doesn't get a rash," Derpy explained.

"Right." Rainbow took out the foal powder, giving Daring's flank a good powdering. This caused the little pegasus to sneeze rather adorably.

Rainbow and Derpy both dawwed, and then Derpy cooed. "Now, the fresh diaper."

Rainbow nodded and was going to strap her up, but the gray-coated pegasus shook her head. "Thread the tail through the back first; otherwise, it'll fall off."

“Ri…right…” Rainbow Dash went and threaded the small golden brown tail through the back of the diaper and then went and strapped it up with the tabs secured on the blue landing zone.

Derpy clapped her hooves together and exclaimed. "See? That wasn't that hard!"

"Yeah, I guess not," Rainbow replied as Daring babbled something. Rainbow could only assume she'd said, "Thank you."

"It's not a problem." Rainbow meeped and blushed.

The little filly yawned, and Derpy cooed. "Come on; it's time for the foal to nap." She led them to A. K. Yealring's bedroom, where she helped Rainbow adjust the filly into her lap as Derpy placed a bottle of formula into the little pegasus' mouth.

Rainbow watched the filly suckle the contents and slowly closed her eyes as she fell asleep in Rainbow Dash's hooves.

"Ok, before putting her to bed, throw her over your shoulder and burp her," Derpy instructed.

Rainbow nodded and threw Daring over her back, had her burped, and cried out as Daring spit up all over her. Derpy just came over and helped clean it up, then hoofed Rainbow Dash a pacifier she inserted into Daring's mouth. Rainbow then placed her down in a crib with her pacifier bobbing up and down, a bit of drool coming down her chin. The mare couldn't help but blush at seeing how adorable the adventurer was in this state.

"Well, you did it; that's all it takes, really," Derpy whispered. "Reina can probably help you with the rest."

"Thanks, I think I can manage now. If Pinkie can do all with the Cake twins by herself and not get tired, how hard can it really be?" Rainbow sighed in relief as she followed the gray-coated mare downstairs, gave her a letter, and told her. "Thanks for your help, Derpy. You didn't have to come along with me."

"Oh, it's no problem. I love being around foals," Derpy cheerfully admitted. "Make sure to keep an eye on her during playtime. She loves to explore. Reminds me of my little filly back home."

"I bet she does," Rainbow responded with a chuckle before warning. "When you go back to Ponyville, you can't tell anypony that A. K. Yearling is really Daring Do. And don't mention she turned into a foal to anypony except for Twilight."

Derpy nodded back. "Right, that makes sense."

"Also, please pick up more foal supplies on your way back, just in case," Rainbow blushed. "Don't know how long this will last, Pinkie tells me the Cakes go through a lot of foal supplies with the twins. So, better safe than sorry."

Derpy gave a salute. "Just leave it to me!"

Rainbow Dash saluted back and watched Derpy fly off, wishing she could tell her fellow pegasus to return.

---

A few days later, Mayor Mare sipped a cup of tea after reviewing some paperwork. Despite the concerns over Mrs. Swindle, she had given no reason for the temporary guardianship to be rescinded. But then something felt off…Mayor Mare realized everything around her was much more significant and that she saw that the letter she was writing was illegible, and she couldn't recognize the words. Drool came down her chin as she saw the ink pot spill black gooey liquid all over the table. The mayor's eyes widened as she seemed entranced by the mess she had created. The mayor then started smashing her hooves into the black liquid and smacking her hooves on the paper, making tiny hoof prints.

She played in ink for a few minutes when she heard. "Oh dear, what happened?" She looked up to see Ms. Swindle come over with a sly smile. "Oh my! Is that you, Mayor Mare?!"

"Yeah, it's me!" Mayor Mare squeaked and blushed! "I turned into a baby! I need to make an appointment with my doctor and sign a form that says I got turned into a foal an-."

"-Oh my, I can't understand a word you're saying," The mare cooed as she picked up the filly, cleaned off the ink on her coat, and swaddled her up in a diaper. "There. Now I believe I'll need another temporary guardianship form?" The filly nodded as Ms. Swindle chuckled. "All right, I'll sign another one and take care of you. I assure you I'll get to the bottom of this and turn you back to normal."

Mayor Mare blushed anew. "But if I dun turn back ta normal in a week, ten there will be a special election where a new mayor will be elected!"

"Oh, such a talkative little cutie," Ms. Swindle chuckled as she replied. "Don't worry; I already know a special election will occur if you're a baby for a week. Twilight Sparkle is working hard to turn you and the Apples back to their original ages, so I'm sure we'll have you back to a big pony before then."

Mayor Mare wasn't paying attention as she bounced up and down on Ms. Swindle's back, enjoying this newfound energy from her youth.

---

Twilight Sparkle was busy reading over the first letter sent by Rainbow Dash: A.K. Yearling (aka Daring Do) was indeed a foal and being cared for by her friend. The fountain of youth was what caused it, and a temple nearby potentially had the answer to curing this age regression curse.

Twilight then heard a knock on the door and shouted. "Come in!"

A tall, middle-aged unicorn came through with a little baby earth pony bouncing on her diaper on her back. "Hello, Twilight; it's finally good to meet you."

Twilight glared at her and grumbled under her breath. "Ms. Swindle, I presume. How nice to see you."

The mare gave Twilight a smug grin. "Well, I have an urgent issue to tell you about. This foal isn't mine, or a foal for that matter; it's Mayor Mare."

"What?!" Twilight shouted as she turned to the foal and saw the resemblance now. "What happened?!"

"I don't know; I came by to give her my report on the Apples' condition," Ms. Swindle explained. "But I found her like this."

"Yeah, that's awfully convenient!" Twilight snapped as she levitated the mayor towards her. She checked the baby over, seeing her kicking about and gurgling. "I know you're behind these age regressions! Rainbow Dash and I are close to exposing you!"

Ms. Swindle put a hoof to her chest and cried! "Me?! Do you think I'm behind all of this?! Of course not! I would gain nothing by regressing the mayor to a foal. I'm just informing you as a concerned citizen to make sure we find a temporary gua-"

Twilight smirked as she was one step ahead of the mare. "-Speaking of your 'temporary guardianship,' I revoked it as of today, and the foals will be under my care until they're turned back into adults."

"Oh? Well, if that's the case, I'm perfectly fine with that," Swindle replied. She opened the door more, showing all four foals in a four-seated stroller. She levitated it into the library. "Here you are, all five foals, all healthy and cared for. I can even give you cribs, a changing table, and a playpen."

Twilight took the foals and brought them closer to her. "They'll be fine; now, please leave. I have important work to do."

"Of course." Ms. Swindle replied with that smirk on her face as she bowed, then left the library

Twilight groaned, sitting down on the floor. "She's behind this; I know it! Hopefully, Rainbow Dash can find some evidence and a cure." The alicorn then took the mayor mare up by the diaper with her drooling and babbling as if she was trying to order her. But Twilight knew the mayor pretty well, seeing how obsessed she was with the necessary paperwork (Applejack told her about all the hoops she'd had to jump through to revoke a fine for their barn being too high).

"I know, I know, I got the right paperwork, a temporary guardianship form for you, and I'm finishing signing the ones for the Apples," Twilight told the regressed mayor. "Don't worry; I understand the importance of paperwork as much as you do."

Mayor Mare gave a few more nods and a happy gurgle as she clapped her tiny hooves in glee. Twilight placed a hoof over her heart, seeing how adorable the mayor was and how much she loved the organization. "I think you and I will get along quite well. I wonder if we're related? But I should start writing a letter to the princesses. Spike!"

"Yeah?" The dragon asked as he came downstairs, then cried out in shock as all five foals floated towards him.

Twilight then said. "I need you to care for the babies while I write a letter to Princess Celestia and Luna informing them of what's happening. Just play with them for an hour or two, ok?"

Spike soon had five baby earth ponies crawling all around him; Applejack was playing with his spines, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were tugging at his tail, Big Mac cuddled up next to him and started to take a nap, while Mayor Mare was eyeing an ink pot and trotting towards it to make more hoofprints with it!

Spike just sat there with a look of confusion as he asked out loud. "Why me?!"

---

"Alright, time to go!" Daring Do sighed, seeing she was crossing over foam blocks, jumping over them while using her wings to flutter across them (despite the difficulty with her poofy diaper). "Can't touch ta lava!"

"Ya not gonna get ta golden pony! I gonna get it first!" Ahuizotl cried out. The kitten (who wasn't wearing a diaper) was leaping over the blocks with a laugh.

Daring Do pout seeing Ahuizotl was regressed to a kindergartener. He can talk and be potty trained (or at least allowed to use a litter box). "Ugh, no fair. I gotta wear diapees!"

"Ha! Tats because I'm litter trained!" Ahuizotl boasted. He continued to bounce across the blocks, and Daring Do follow, using her wings to flap about (Rainbow Dash was training her to fly, but she could only get off the ground for a few seconds at a time). They then came to a giant pile of plush animals. This time they had to climb up them, and Ahuizotl was struggling as his claws weren't sharp enough to cling to the fabric.

Daring Do use her flapping to get up the pile, and she got to the top. The filly then stood on her hind hooves, showing off her cute diaper, and shouted! "Aha! I made it up ta mountain!"

"No fair, ya got wings!" Ahuizotl growled

"Sucks for you!" Daring laughed as she slid down the pile of plush animals. She then came to a pack of Cloudies brand diapers laid out like a bridge to a pyramid (which she and Ahuizotl built) made of foam blocks. She then did her best to keep her balance. Still, it was difficult with the diaper between her legs, making her movement clumsy and awkward.

But then Ahuizotl leaped over her while laughing. "Ya forgot kitties have great balance! I gonna win!"

"Na uh!" Daring shouted; she then flapped over the last package of Cloudies and saw the golden toy on top of a foam block. They both grabbed at it and wrestled each other, trying to take it. They knocked over the blocks causing them to collapse onto the foals. Still, they spilled over the packages of diapers and onto the foam tiles below.

Daring then took the plastic toy and claimed. "Aha, I win!"

Ahuizotl made a pouty face and whined. "Na uh, I got it first!"

"Ya gotta have it ta win!" Daring laughing. She fluttered away as Ahuizotl chased her, eventually catching up and snatching it, then shouting. "Yeah! I got it!"

"Not for long!" Daring then used her wings to tickle Ahuizotl's belly, making him giggle uncontrollably until he dropped it. Then Daring lay next to him as she was out of breath. "Tat was fun."

"Yeah, reminds me of when ya took one gold idol in one ruin, and a boulder chased after both of us," Ahuizotl commented.

"Yeah, I remember that. I saved ya!" Daring boasted.

"Nah, uh, I saved ya!" Ahuizotl snapped.

"Ya forget, I flew up to the ta ceiling and grabbed ya before ya fell in ta spikes!" Ahuizotl went silent, seeing Daring Do was telling the truth but didn't want to admit it.

"Aww, what are you talking about?" They both turned to Reina coming over. "It seems you both had a lot of fun!"

"Yeah, we're just playing." Ahuizotl giggled as he pounced over toward her. She took him up as Rainbow Dash flew over and checked Daring's diaper. "Oh boy, time for a change."

The filly cheeks flushed red, and she was still not used to not knowing when she used her diapers (luckily, it was just pee this time). After her diaper change (which Rainbow Dash was getting faster at), Daring was back in her highchair eating mashed peas (which she hated, but Rainbow Dash kept making silly faces getting her to laugh, and used that opportunity to feed her).

Rainbow talked to Reina. "So, I think I figured out the cure for you and Ahuizotl. There are three temples near the fountain of youth, and the river that connects to the lake goes to all three. But going over your notes, I think that the middle one might have the cure based on old carvings of ancient ponies turning into babies, then going there to turn back to adults."

"Wow! That's impressive! You figured all that out by yourself?" Reina asked.

"I had to do a lot of translations, but Daring Do did most of the work already," Rainbow explained. "I just went over the carvings. But the notes also say there's a winged serpent there that seems to have kept some ancient ponies as babies. Legends say it has a baby rattle for a tail."

"Well, we'll come to help and make sure that doesn't happen to our little ones," Reina replied. "No snake is foalnapping, my little kitty."

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but snicker at seeing how Ahuizotl was blushing. "Right, the little kitty better stay close to his mommy."

Daring Do and Ahuizotl both yawned. "Well, time for their naps," Reina said to Rainbow. "I got my son. Need any help with Daring Do?"

"Don't worry, I got her. This is the one thing I never have trouble with." Rainbow Dash chirped and then took the foal and went upstairs.

Daring Do so had a bottle placed in her mouth, and when she finished, she was burped. This time Rainbow Dash caught the spit up with a rag. "Ha, got ya this time!"

The little adventurer felt so embarrassed. If Rainbow Dash felt ashamed, she felt twice as much now. Rainbow Dash then plopped a pacifier into Daring's mouth and placed her back into a crib. She placed a blanket over her body and a pacifier into Daring's mouth.

The filly felt the diaper around her waist and between her thighs. The sense of helplessness was overwhelming. She stood on her hind legs and looked over her room, seeing the stuffed animals, spare diapers, and a few foam blocks. She then looked up and said, "Thank you." to Rainbow Dash, who looked back. She didn't understand what Daring had said but flashed her a smile. "It's no problem, squirt, get some sleep…just promise me, don't write a book about this, ok? After all, this is over; we would rather act like this never happened. Especially if it gets to the point where I have to potty train you."

Daring Do burst into laughter as she lay in her crib, thinking about writing a book about her experience as a baby. It sounded fun; she could make it into a picture book for foals. She'd, of course, change the characters to keep their identities secret. She continued to think about the story as she drifted off to sleep.

They then heard a knock at the door, and Rainbow Dash opened it, seeing Derpy, who gave her a pack of diapers, some more cans of formula, and a letter. The daredevil read it and gasped. "What! Ms. Swindle is running for mayor?! She might be elected if we don't find a cure within seven days!"

"That's why she turned the mayor into a baby!" Reina exclaimed and then asked. "Can't your princesses do something?"

Rainbow shook her head. "There's not enough evidence that Mrs. Swindle did anything. She even gave the foals to Twilight to care for. We don't have a choice; we need to go and get the cure now!"

"Right, as mayor, she might be able to take your friend's farm or worse. But we need to prepare." Reina firmly insisted.

Derpy blushed. "What should I do?"

Rainbow Dash turned towards Derpy. "You need to go help Twilight. She has five foals and no experience with them, so she'll need all the help she can get. Applejack's a foal now, so she can't help. I wonder if Rarity will be eager to help. I'm not sure if Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will be able to manage five foals on top of what they already do," She hoofed the diapers and formula back to Derpy and then added. "Twilight needs these now more than us. Reina and I should still have enough supplies to get us through this adventure."

Derpy nodded. "Right. I'll do whatever I can! You two go and get that cure for everypony!"

"Derpy, you're the best!" Rainbow breathed a small sigh of relief. "I mean it. Without you, Twilight and I would be flying blind. When we return from this adventure, I'll give you like a thousand bits for this!"

Derpy blushed. "Thank you. I don't need the money, but I'll happily settle for free muffins." She then took the package of diapers and formula and flew off.

Rainbow Dash turned to Reina, "Alright, we'll need to pack up water and food."

Reina blushed. "Rainbow Dash, this trip will take at least a day or two. And we need to travel as light as possible," She then took out a golden necklace. "My son can't drink the formula Derpy has been giving you, so I've been feeding him my milk. This necklace allows my teats to fill with milk, and I can nurse him. We'll need to use this to give ourselves as much time as possible."

"No, no, no! No way! I'm not nursing Daring Do!" Rainbow protested.

"Rainbow Dash, we might not have a choice," Reina protested. "We can't bring a bunch of glass jars filled with food, and we need water and dry nonperishable food for ourselves. That's not including a tent and some sleeping bags."

"Ugh…f…fine. But you better not tell anyone about this!" Rainbow slammed a hoof to her face, seeing that this adventure was getting more embarrassing by the minute.

"I swear I won't," Reina responded, placing a paw over her heart.

Rainbow Dash gave a sigh and then exclaimed. "Ok, let's get the supplies, grab the foals, and move on!" She blushed, thinking about nursing Daring Do, hoping she'd be ok with it.