Back To Basics
Three – Back To Basics
“Twilight?” Fluttershy crept toward the bundled-up shape on Twilight’s bed. She concentrated on treading quietly, which was handy when dealing with upset animals—and upset ponies. “Are you okay?”
“Leave me alone,” said the bundle on the bed. “I don’t want to see anypony right now.” Then, after a thoughtful pause, she added, “Except maybe Spike.”
Fluttershy decided to take a risk and fly over to her friend’s side. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything?”
“No…” The bundle shifted as Twilight poked her head out from under the covers. She looked utterly miserable. “I’m fine. I said I was fine, didn’t I? Why doesn’t anypony believe me when I say that?”
“Okay, okay,” Fluttershy replied soothingly. She stepped back toward the doorway and smiled. “We’ll be downstairs if you need anything. Anything at all.” She gave Twilight a friendly wink and a nod before turning away.
Twilight sighed. “Wait. Don’t go. I… I do need your help.”
As she threw the covers off herself, Fluttershy’s nose twitched unpleasantly. She gasped when she saw the stain on the bed sheets. Suddenly the air was filled with a fresh odor—a familiar smell after all those times spent housebreaking Ponyville’s pets.
“Oh, Twilight!” Fluttershy immediately flew back and picked up the filly. “I’m so sorry!”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry!” Twilight said, choking past fresh tears. She buried her face into Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I-I tried to keep my control, but I just can’t! I’m really scared…”
“Shh, it’s okay.” Fluttershy brushed away the tears from her friend’s cheeks with her hoof. “I know this is going to be hard. But I promise we’ll find the spell to fix this.”
Twilight sniffled as she looked up. “…You promise?”
“I do.”
The filly nuzzled her back. “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.”
“Anytime, sweetie.” Fluttershy was finding it hard not to think of Twilight as another sick filly. But her instincts were getting the better of her. She couldn’t help but care for somepony so small.
Not to mention, she thought with a smile, she’s the most adorable filly I’ve ever seen!
“You might not like this,” Fluttershy whispered, “but maybe we could avoid these accidents if we… took some precaution?”
“What do you mean?”
Fluttershy blushed. “Well, Pinkie Pie did bring some diapers with her—”
Twilight’s whine interrupted her. “Isn’t there another way?”
“I’m not sure. Do you know any spells that might help?”
“It’s not the spells, it’s the talent.” Twilight grimaced as her horn glowed magenta. A tiny spark popped out, landing on the floor with a harmless sizzle. “I’m back at the magic I was practicing before I got my cutie mark.” She wriggled her flanks. “And I’ve still got my cutie mark!”
Fluttershy waited for her to finish ranting. Then Twilight looked up at her with a cautious frown.
“Look, if I agree to this,” she said quietly, “just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“That you never—ever—let Pinkie Pie change me.”
Twilight allowed herself to be carried downstairs in Fluttershy’s arms. She groaned when she saw the litter on the main floor of the library.
Building blocks, rubber balls, stuffed animals, pacifiers, bottles, and stacks of diapers—all tossed haphazardly onto the ground. As Pinkie Pie entertained herself with some juggling, Spike ran around trying to organize everything into neat little piles. Twilight had to give him credit for trying to make the most out of an awful situation.
She wished she could do the same, but couldn’t see how.
“Um, Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy landed on the floor and let Twilight sit down in front of her. “Would you mind giving us a moment of privacy?”
“I could, but you know what’d be even better?” With a dramatic flourish, Pinkie Pie dropped all three of the balls she’d been juggling and tossed some confetti into the air. “A play date with our new filly friend!”
Since she was standing in front of Spike, Pinkie failed to notice him slap his hand against his face in frustration. Twilight hid her smile behind her hoof.
“Well, you see…” Fluttershy tiptoed over to Pinkie Pie and whispered into her ear.
Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened. She looked at Twilight and gave an embarrassed grin. “Okey-dokey… um, artichokey…” Without warning, she grabbed Spike under his arms and did an impressive backflip out of the room. “See you in a jiff!”
As Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other, they shared an embarrassed smile. Then the pegasus reached into one of the piles and took out a gauzy yellow blanket. She put Twilight on the blanket and waited for her to lie down.
Okay, Twilight reassured herself. You can do this. It’s just a diaper. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of foals wear them all the time… and so do very old ponies at the retirement home… and a few bedridden ponies at the hospital…
Twilight shut her eyes and shook her head to chase away such thoughts. This spiraling despair wasn’t going to change anything.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy came forward with a diaper in one hoof and a bottle of powder in the other. When Twilight glanced quizzically at the powder, the pegasus grinned sheepishly. “It’s just to keep you clean. For when you have to go again.”
That seemed reasonable. As Fluttershy unfolded the diaper, Twilight watched how quickly and skillfully she worked. She’d seen her work well with animals, but rarely with children.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” said Twilight, “where’d you learn to deal with foals so well?”
“Oh, I learned it back when I was just a filly myself,” Fluttershy answered as she lifted Twilight’s legs and slid the diaper under her bottom. “Since I wasn’t that good at flying, I volunteered at nurseries and daycare centers, looking after foals when their parents were busy.” A wistful smile came over her as she sprinkled some powder between Twilight’s legs. “It was a pretty good experience and sure helped me when I got my cutie mark for taking care of animals.”
The thought of a young Fluttershy in a nursery full of happy, needy foals made Twilight smile. It kept her perfectly still as Fluttershy finished taping the diaper into place.
“There you go,” the pegasus whispered. “It’s not too tight, is it?”
Cautiously, Twilight got up and trotted around the blanket. The diaper felt a little heavier than most of the dresses and costumes she’d worn to royal events and Canterlot galas, but it wasn’t that unpleasant. And it was mercifully quiet, so she wouldn’t be rustling everywhere she went.
Hopefully, if luck was on her side, she wouldn’t have to go very far.
“It’s fine,” she told Fluttershy. Then, just for fun, Twilight reached up and hugged her. “Thanks a lot.”
A pair of yellow arms wrapped around Twilight. “You’re welcome!”
As tender as the moment was, it was soon rudely interrupted. A deep-throated belch cut across the room, as the two ponies looked up at Spike.
To Twilight’s joy, a green fireball had escaped his mouth. The fire and smoke vanished, leaving a pristine white scroll in its place. Spike caught the scroll and anxiously opened it up.
“It’s from the Princess!” he announced.
“Woo hoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered, cartwheeling back into the library. “This calls for a party!”
Twilight’s ears flattened. “We can celebrate once I’m back to normal. Let’s see that letter, Spike.”
The dragon handed it over. Twilight automatically tried to use her magic to hold the scroll up, but her horn was still underdeveloped. As a futile spark popped out, she gave up the effort and spread the parchment out on the floor.
“Dear Twilight,” she read out loud, “I am terribly sorry to hear about your condition. While I would be happy to assist you, my sister Luna and I are currently entertaining a delegation of ambassadors from the Griffin Kingdom…”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Spike remarked sadly.
“Nevertheless,” Twilight continued, “I encourage you to come by train to Canterlot at once. As Princess, you still have access to the Star-Swirl the Bearded Wing of the royal archives. The scholars there will be able to assist you in a search for the solution. Sincerely yours, Princess Celestia.”
She looked up from the scroll, groaning. “I can’t believe it. I have to go to Canterlot and face everypony looking like this? Nopony’s going to take me seriously as a princess!”
“Aww, cheer up, Twily!” Pinkie Pie replied. “I’m sure Celestia turned herself into all kinds of colors and sizes with her magic spells!”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
Spike leaned over her shoulder and pointed a claw at the scroll. “I think there’s a postscript at the bottom.”
Twilight looked down and read, “P.S. Before you leave Ponyville, you should consult with your local timekeeper. Ask him about designing a circadian hourglass and have him accompany you to Canterlot to make sure it’s working. He should know what to do from there.”
“Local timekeeper?” Spike’s eyes widened. “Oh, this is gonna turn out great…”
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MOAR!
ish a cute story hehe.
2404340 Thank you!
2404338 *ducks head over keyboard* I'm writing as fast as I can! Thanks for your patience!
You know, you're doing really well. I had some small niggling with the storytelling in chapter one, but you've smoothed that out. This is a rare case of a story being so well written that the errors require me to look for them; a nice change of pace.
this is getting kind of weird...I like it.
Keep it up.
Ooooooooo! I sense the Doctor coming!
It's time to meet Time Turner (Or Doctor Whooves). Now I really don't see why Twilight wouldn't want Pinkie to change her, if anything she should look forward to it because who knows maybe Pinkie Pie will get the diaper stuck on her head again.
me gusta este libro
2405068
She's probably terrified Pinkie would A) go over-the-top with "who's a widdle cutie? You are!" comments, B) make a song out of it, or C) both.
THis is gonna be good!
2405092 Entonces, muchas gracias por leer!
2405439 All of those things are a very real possibility where Pinkie Pie's concerned. Not to mention Fluttershy seems like the more comforting pony to go with.
2405439 Pinkie Pie making up a song about changing diapers? Well I guess that's one way of making the experience more pleasant.
And the cryptic crossword fan in me immediately rearranges 'despair' into 'diapers'. ^^
My pleasure.
That scene with and fluttershy was so touching
I get the feeling that, while I know velvet will play a part in this Fic, I can't help thinking fluttershy wil be caring for twi
A "what could have" occurs to me, what if the CMC had been involved?
CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FOAL SITTERS! YAY!
Diapers=despair
Too CUTE!!! I'm dying from cuteness overload!!!!!