Fed up with Diamond Tiara's bullying, Cheerilee decides to give her a lesson in empathy. However, the lesson comes with some unintended results and a side of Diamond Tiara no one has seen before. (warning: diapers)
After a scooter injury leaves Scootaloo physically disabled and incontinent, Diamond Tiara takes her bullying too far. Though it's not anything new, it's the last straw for Cheerilee. Since punishment isn't doing anything for the filly bully, she tries a lesson in empathy instead, putting Diamond Tiara in Scootaloo's hooves for a few days, but will either of them be prepared for the consequences? (warning: diapers and some diaper usage - nothing graphic or sexual, some bullying)
The Ponyville Schoolhouse was abuzz with activity much earlier in the morning than usual. Young pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies were scattered all over the room hanging streamers and organizing a large pile of hoofmade cards on Scootaloo’s desk. Under the careful supervision of their teacher Miss Cheerilee, Featherweight and Tornado Bolt were unfurling a banner over the door, with a picture of Scootaloo and the words “Welcome Back” in big bright letters.
Yes, it seemed everypony was hard at work making sure everything was ready when Scootaloo came in the door… well, almost everypony. In the corner, Diamond Tiara was showing off pictures of her recent trip to Los Pegasus to her friend Silver Spoon. “And this is me in front of the Fillywood sign,” Diamond Tiara stated with a strong air of pride. “And this is when we went to the Ponymount Studios movie lot. I even met Starlight Chaser making his new movie!”
“Ahem,” Miss Cheerilee approached the two girls with a concerned smile. “Perhaps we can save that for later, girls. We need to get ready for Scootaloo.”
“Oh, we would Miss Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara agreed with fake sincerity. “But it seems everyone else is already doing such a good job. We’d just get in the way.” The truth was she didn’t want any part of it and didn’t understand why everyone had to come to school so early. So what if that blank flank hurt herself going down a ravine on her scooter, falling off when a wheel broke off and ending up in the hospital. Maybe if she could fly, these things wouldn’t happen, she convinced herself.
“I’m sure you two can find something to do,” Miss Cheerilee suggested, urging them again to put the pictures away and help their classmates. As their teacher walked away, they both let out a long sigh as they got up from their desks and went to help their classmates.
Stupid blank flank, Diamond Tiara thought as she helped with writing a welcome back message on the chalkboard. She and her friends get all the attention.
Once everything was ready, Miss Cheerilee turned off the lights and signaled all her students to hide. “Okay, everyone, get ready. She’ll be here any minute!”
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon half-heartedly hid in a corner behind a shelf, grumbling to themselves. All this fuss because she hurt herself, Diamond Tiara thought without the least bit of sympathy.
“Oh, one last thing, everypony,” Miss Cheerilee mentioned from the window, keeping an eye out for Scootaloo. “Scootaloo is still recovering and has special needs. I don’t want any of you to make fun of her, okay?”
“Special needs?” Diamond Tiara whispered suspiciously to Silver Spoon, but was interrupted as Miss Cheerilee signaled for everyone to be quiet. Even Cheerilee hid behind her desk as the Cutie Mark Crusaders opened the door and came into the room.
“Come on, Scootaloo, it’s gonna be okay,” Diamond Tiara listened as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood in the doorway, looking behind them. In the hall, they could hear Scootaloo’s voice.
“I don’t know,” she said hesitantly. “Maybe I should just go back home.”
“You’ll be fine,” Sweetie Belle assured her friend, heading back into the hallway. Diamond Tiara peeked from behind the shelf as she watched a dejected Scootaloo carted into the room in a wheelchair with a large sack on the back of it and… and…
“Seriously?” Diamond Tiara gasped, putting her hoof over her mouth to keep from laughing. “She’s wearing a diaper?”
“She’s a baby blank flank,” Silver Spoon snickered, cut off by the sounds of cheering as all the other students leapt from their hiding places with big smiles to greet Scootaloo back to school. “Surprise!” they all shouted happily. “Welcome back, Scootaloo!”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked to Scootaloo happily as they wheeled her over to her desk. “The whole class was worried about you. Everyone’s glad you’re back!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed as Scootaloo began to sort through all the get-well cards her classmates had made.
“Aren’t ya glad ya came?” Apple Bloom asked knowingly.
Scootaloo nodded with a thoughtful smile, touched at the warmth and kindness of her classmates. “Thank you, everypony,” Scootaloo addressed the class. “It’s been really hard these last few weeks but it’s so great to see that you all missed me. I’m really glad to be back!”
Another round of cheering broke out as Scootaloo modestly bathed in the kindness and thoughtfulness of the ponies in her life, while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle each took one of Scootaloo’s hooves in their own and raised it up high victoriously.
“Alright, everypony,” Miss Cheerilee addressed the class after a while. “Scootaloo, we’re so happy to have you back, but it’s time for us to begin our lessons for the day.”
As Miss Cheerilee was drawing up the lesson for the day, Diamond Tiara leaned over to Silver Spoon knowingly. “This is too good!” she snickered. “Forget her cutie mark, she’s turned into a foal!”
Having been encouraged by her classmates without one pointing or even noticing her diaper, Scootaloo remained blissfully unaware as the two snobby fillies pointed at the bulky white garment with nasty thoughts about how they could humiliate her. They whispered back to each other, often pausing to make sure Miss Cheerilee thought they were paying attention, but of course, the embarrassing sound of Scootaloo’s crinkling diaper was much more entertaining to the two bullies.
“Alright, class, now that you know the proper care for flowers, lets go practice,” Miss Cheerilee announced after her gardening lecture. Each colt and filly took some gardening supplies. Diamond Tiara looked over the items with little interest, until she spotted something that she could use for a different purpose altogether. Picking up a small watering can, she looked to Miss Cheerilee with pure enthusiasm. “Miss Cheerilee, is it okay if I take the watering can?”
“Sure, Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee agreed. “Just be careful not to spill.”
“Oh, I won’t,” Diamond Tiara announced with a very sing-songish tone of voice, before picking up the can with her mouth and eyeing Scootaloo knowingly.
Outside the schoolhouse, Miss Cheerilee walked her students behind towards a small patch of yellow and purple flowers she had been having her students tend to that they may be able to help with tasks like farming and tending to fields every year for the Winter Wrap-Up. Most of the students eagerly gathered around, but as always, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon hung out in the back, thinking they were too good for such childish activities.
As Miss Cheerilee was helping with Pipsqueak with tending to a few weeds that had popped up, she noticed the ground had dried out. “Diamond Tiara,” she called out to the pink pony eagerly. “We need your help with the watering can.”
“Coming,” Diamond Tiara announced picking up the can. She could see she would be passing right by Scootaloo as she pranced happily towards the garden. She waited until just the right moment and then decided to have a little trip, flinging the watering can up in the air just enough that it turned upside down. Scootaloo gasped as the water rushed out of the top of the can, splashing loudly on her as the watering can clattered on the ground. Alerted by the sound, everyone turned to look at Diamond Tiara standing next to Scootaloo, pointing directly at her diapered lap, now bulging and soaked with water.
“Miss Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara announced, loud enough that the entire class could hear her. “Scootaloo’s diaper is wet!”
Scootaloo’s eyes welled at the sound of the word “diaper”. It was hard enough for her going through physical therapy, struggling to get up and walk. It’s not like she ever wanted to wear the stupid thing but she had no choice. She knew if she came back to school, no matter how much Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said otherwise, everyone was going to pay attention to the fact that she was wearing diapers.
Scootaloo bit her lip as she tried not to react or show weakness. She knew Diamond Tiara had done that on purpose but had no way of proving it. Fortunately, she had friends that didn’t care about things like that.
“It’s wet because you spilled it on her on purpose!” Sweetie Belle dashed to Scootaloo’s side, looking Diamond Tiara dead in the eye. Diamond Tiara looked unamused and dutifully explained that was just an accident, with a strong emphasis on the word “accident”.
Sweetie Belle growled at Diamond Tiara. She was always doing this for as long as she could remember; bullying the three of them relentlessly for their failings to make herself feel superior, but she couldn’t imagine Diamond Tiara would sink this low as to make fun of Scootaloo, who was only in diapers because she was still unable to walk.
“Now girls,” Miss Cheerilee hurried over to break it up before somepony did something they would regret. “We mustn’t accuse each other when we don’t know all the facts. Accidents do happen.”
Silver Spoon chuckled behind Diamond Tiara at Miss Cheerilee’s choice of words. Apple Bloom though was quick to defend Scootaloo alongside Sweetie Belle.
“Miss Cheerilee, Diamond Tiara dropped the watering can on purpose,” she explained, knowing her own history with the bully filly. “She’s always doing stuff like this. It took a lot for Scootaloo to come back to school and now she just wants to make fun of her for what she can’t control.”
“Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee looked down at her student seriously. “Did you spill the watering can on Scootaloo on purpose?”
“No, Miss Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara answered as sincerely as she could manage through her lying teeth. “I swear it was an accident. I was just calling it to your attention because I know that it would be really uncomfortable for Scootaloo to have to sit in a wet diaper the whole time we were out here. Honest.”
Miss Cheerilee looked at Diamond Tiara and back at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Okay, Diamond Tiara,” she sided with the pink filly having no evidence to justify if it was or wasn’t an accident. “But next time, bring it to my attention privately. It’s not nice to embarrass others, even if that wasn’t what you meant to do.”
“I will, Miss Cheerilee,” she responded politely before turning to Scootaloo without any sense of remorse. Still, she said the words that would get her off the hook. “I’m sorry, Scootaloo. I’ll try to be more careful next time.”
Scootaloo grumbled, wincing at how completely fake she sounded and knowing that she really did mean to do it. No matter how Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tried to console her, it was no use.
“Keep working, everypony,” Miss Cheerilee announced as she took the handles of Scootaloo’s wheelchair and helped her back into the schoolhouse to change her into a fresh, dry diaper. “We’ll be back in a minute.”
Scootaloo spent most of the morning questioning if she should have waited until she was fully healed to come back, but she knew that wasn’t possible. After all, the doctors had told her that it’s possible she may have to wear diapers the rest of her life if the incontinence turned out to be permanent. She fidgeted in her chair as she felt a twinge in her bladder. She had already been made to look like she wet her diaper once already today. She struggled desperately to hold it but the accident had left her bladder as weak as a foal’s. No matter how hard she tried, she felt like she could cry when she felt the first few drops of her pee trickle against the soft cottony padding.
“Look, look!” Silver Spoon called it to Diamond Tiara’s attention first with a shrill whisper.
Diamond Tiara did and resisted the urge to laugh as she saw Scootaloo’s face turning bright red as she strained to hold herself back. Diamond Tiara giggled over to Silver Spoon, disbelieving in what she thought she was seeing. “Is she actually using it? Oh my gosh, she really is a baby blank flank!”
Overwhelmed with amusement at the humiliating display Scootaloo had no choice but to put on for her class, Diamond Tiara took out a spare piece of paper and began to doodle with the pencil in her mouth, sketching a crude image of Scootaloo in a stroller, sucking on a pacifier. Large stink lines were shown coming from an oversized diaper, bulging with telltale lumps. She wrote “BABY BLANK FLANK” in big letters at the top. Eager to show her work to the class, she slid the paper under her desk and quietly crumpled it into a tiny ball.
Dropping it on the floor, she kicked it with the side of her back hoof over Silver Spoon. When Miss Cheerilee turned away to write something on the board, she leaned down quickly to pick it up, uncrumpling the paper and resisting the urge to laugh. Quickly, she crumpled it and passed it to Pipsqueak, who then passed it to Berry Pinch, to Dinky Doo and so on until the ball came rolling over from Snips to Peachy Pie’s desk where a purple hoof firmly stomped on the rolling ball of paper. Miss Cheerilee leaned down to pick up the ball of paper as the classroom become incredibly quiet. Passing notes was expressively forbidden. The normally gentle and caring teach quickly became firm and authoritative as she opened the paper ball and looked at the drawing inside. Crumpling it back up, she looked over her classroom with deep disappointment.
“I want to know who made this,” Miss Cheerilee asked, clear and straightforward. “And I want the truth. Anyone who lies will be in just as much trouble.”
She looked to Snips first, who had been the last one who pass the drawing around the classroom. “Snips, do you know who drew this?” The bluish-gray colt hastily point a hoof at Snails who pointed at Sunny Days who pointed at Aura and down the line went until it ended with Pipsqueak pointing to Silver Spoon. Miss Cheerilee looked down on the grey bespectacled filly with disapproving eyes. “Silver Spoon, is this your doing?”
Diamond Tiara crossed her hind legs together in anticipation. Silver Spoon had been her best friend for years. She wouldn’t rat her out, would she? Diamond Tiara kept a watchful eye on her best friend as Silver Spoon looked back and forth between her friend and her teacher. “Silver Spoon,” Cheerilee reminded her. “Answer me and be honest. Were you the one who drew this?”
Silver Spoon’s lip quivered for a moment, her eyes squeezing shut as her desire not to get in trouble outweighed her loyalty to her friend. “Diamond Tiara drew it!” she shouted aloud, pointing an accusatory hoof directly at her. The sudden fear of discipline made her spill details far beyond the initial situation as well. “She also spilled the watering can on Scootaloo on purpose!”
“Ah knew it!” Apple Bloom turned around in her desk, pointing at Diamond Tiara angrily. “There was no way that could have been an accident, not with you!”
“Apple Bloom, this doesn’t concern you. Please don’t get involved,” Miss Cheerilee warned. Apple Bloom knew better than to get on an adult’s bad side, turning back around in her chair while Miss Cheerilee turned her attention back on Diamond Tiara. “Diamond Tiara, is all of this true?”
Diamond Tiara shrank as Miss Cheerilee turned her stern gaze on the pink pony disapprovingly. “That’s a lie,” Diamond Tiara tried to lie but the shock of being sold out by Silver Spoon made her statement far less convincing than she normally was when lying to her teacher. “I didn’t do any of it! I’ve never seen that drawing in my life!”
“Miss Tiara,” Cheerilee addressed her with the utmost gravity. “Do you think I can’t recognize one of my students’ handwriting?”
“I… I don’t know…” she replied in a small voice, feeling so small under the disciplinary side of her teacher. “Maybe?”
“Diamond Tiara, this type of behavior will not be tolerated in this classroom. You’ll be staying inside for recess today and you’ll clean up the classroom at the end of the day. Then, I’ll take you home and we’re going to have a long talk with your father about this.”
“You’re going to talk to Daddy?” Diamond Tiara sputtered out, slamming her hooves on her desk, eyes wide with fear. “Miss Cheerilee, I promise I won’t do it again! Please don’t tell my daddy!”
“You should have thought about that before you decided to act this way,” Cheerilee chided as she returned to the lesson.
Diamond Tiara could barely focus on anything other than the fact that Miss Cheerilee was going to tell her father that she was in trouble. The last time she did that when she insulted Granny Smith in front of the class, she was made to completely humiliate herself helping her prepare zap apple jam. She couldn’t bear to face any punishment like that again.
True to her word, Cheerilee did keep Diamond Tiara inside for recess and in school until the classroom was clean to her satisfaction. By the time they left, all her classmates had already headed home. She looked for Silver Spoon, but she was nowhere to be found. It boiled her up inside that she would cave under that kind of pressure. She was part of it too, Diamond Tiara thought bitterly as Cheerilee escorted her back to her family’s mansion on the edge of Ponyville.
At the gate, Cheerilee rang the bell. The butler Randall came out dutifully. “Good afternoon, miss,” Randall dutifully greeted his employer’s daughter. “Your father has been wondering where you have been and… oh, your teacher is here?”
“Good afternoon,” Miss Cheerilee greeted the butler warmly. “I’m Cheerilee, Diamond Tiara’s teacher. I was hoping I could speak with her father for a moment. It’s of utmost importance.”
“I will call from him immediately,” Randall acknowledged, opening the gate and leading the two onto the property and into the main house. The inside was fairly luxurious with many expensive pieces of furniture and artwork gracing the corridors. They were eventually led to a large sitting area where Miss Cheerilee was asked to sit down on a very expensive-looking velvet couch.
“I’m going to go now,” Diamond Tiara tried to excuse herself, not wanting to be here when her father got here.
“That’s fine,” Miss Cheerilee agreed to Diamond Tiara’s visible surprise. “I’ll discuss things with your father and I will see you tomorrow morning.”
“Okay,” Diamond Tiara managed after a moment of speechlessness. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought it would be. She skipped up to her room, torn between relief and trepidation, blissfully unaware that Miss Cheerilee had no intention of letting Diamond Tiara off the hook so easily. Randall offered to bring her some refreshment, but Cheerilee declined, waiting until Diamond Tiara’s father, Filthy Rich, greeted her with his presence, dressed as if he just came from a business meeting, his mane still slicked back as if he would be going back in when he was done here.
“Sorry for the delay,” he stated with a deep southern drawl. “Running a business is a 24 hour job after all, Miss Cheerilee. Now then, how’s my little Diamond doin’?”
“Well, Mr. Fil… Mr. Rich,” she corrected herself quickly. “I’m afraid she’s not doing all that well.”
“Is she falling behind in her studies,” Mr. Rich eyed Miss Cheerilee curiously. “She’s never shown a problem before.”
“No, her grades are fine,” Miss Cheerilee assured him, taking control of the conversation. She needed to spell it out to him very clearly. “Mr. Rich, your daughter was caught bullying one of her fellow classmates today, one who is currently disabled and in a very delicate emotional state. What’s more, your daughter doesn’t seem to show any remorse for her actions.”
“I know she has a bit of an attitude, but…” Filthy Rich quickly tried to defuse the situation, but Miss Cheerilee was not having any of it today.
“Mr. Rich, over the past few years, your daughter has bullied her classmates incessantly, and whenever I can I try to make sure she is punished accordingly. We took the school paper away from her; we made her help Granny Smith when she insulted her in class. I do what I can when I see it happen, but I don’t see it stopping or even signs of improvement. Mr. Rich, this is a very serious problem.”
“I punish her when I can too,” Mr. Rich acknowledged, not wanting Miss Cheerilee to think him as less than any other parent. “But what else can we do?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Miss Cheerilee came to the crux of what she wanted to discuss with Filthy Rich, something she had considered over the course of the day regarding what to do with Diamond Tiara. “And I know this may sound strange, but I’d like you to hear me out.”
“Go on,” Filthy Rich allowed, relaxing in his easy chair with his hooves clasped together in his lap.
Miss Cheerilee pursed her lips for a moment, considering where to start. She took a deep breath and proceeded. “Mr. Rich, up until know we have been punishing Diamond Tiara when she does wrong, but she hasn’t been improving. This could be for a number of reasons, but the one I believe most strongly is that while she understands her actions have consequences, she doesn’t seem to grasp why certain actions are harmful. A punishment of taking away her recess privileges or making her do extra work around the… house,” she hesitated, not even sure if such a large place could be called a house. “It doesn’t explain to her why her behavior is wrong. I think it would be to Diamond Tiara’s benefit if instead of the normal punishment that she understand why her actions are harmful from a first pony perspective.”
“Miss Cheerilee,” Filthy Rich spoke sharply in response. “Are you suggesting you let other children bully my daughter?”
“No, Mr. Rich,” Miss Cheerilee assured her. “What I’m suggesting is that your daughter walk for a little while in someone else’s hooves.”
Miss Cheerilee then began to detail how this would affect Diamond Tiara. She was right to ask for him to hear her out. To say the punishment was unorthodox was an understatement, but as Miss Cheerilee explained the potential benefits, it seemed to be something that the troublemaking filly would find a learning experience in a strong way. He was reluctant, but spending more time at work than at home, he valued her opinion over his own in raising his daughter. “If that’s what you feel is best, I’ll agree to it,” Mr. Rich acknowledged after Cheerilee had finished explaining. “I’ll let the help know immediately. We’ll get everything ready to start tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Mr. Rich,” Miss Cheerilee bowed in gratitude. “I just know Diamond Tiara will become a better pony from this.”
Upstairs, Diamond Tiara was brought her dinner to her room with less of a serving than normal. Her nanny, Loving Care, came at the behest of her father to tell her she was to go to bed early. Diamond Tiara felt if this was her punishment, she was getting off easy, and with as furious as she was at Silver Spoon, she went to bed without any resistance. What Diamond Tiara didn’t know is that her punishment would not even begin until the next day.
No matter how many glasses of water she drank or how many times the temperature of the room was adjusted, Diamond Tiara found sleeping that night very difficult. She had the sense that something was not right. Miss Cheerilee had never come to the house before to speak with her father, and this was the only punishment she was getting? That can’t be right, she thought as she tossed and turned underneath the bed sheets.
It wasn’t just the punishment. Her mind kept going back to Silver Spoon as well. I should have ratted her out too, Diamond Tiara thought in retrospect, at her heart no better. She was making fun of the baby blank flank too. She just didn’t get caught.
A knot tied up inside her as she became convinced this was not the end of her punishment. It wasn’t until her strength gave out and she finally fell asleep that she was able to push it down, hoping this sensation would be gone in the morning.
The daylight broke as Diamond Tiara’s nanny, Loving Care, came into the room. She was an older earth mare, a little older than her teacher with a light purple coat and silky golden mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a big pony and a little pony side-by-side. “Good morning, Miss Tiara,” she called to her charge as she parted the drapes and let the morning sun into the room.
Diamond Tiara winced in the bright light, pulling the covers over her head instinctively. She felt like she had barely slept a wink. “Go away, Loving!” she barked through the bed sheet cocoon she had wrapped herself in. “It’s too early!”
“Not true, Miss Tiara,” Loving Care spoke gently, having become accustomed to the more abrasive sides of the young filly. “It is indeed time for you to wake up and go to school. We have much to do to get you ready.”
“What’s so hard about taking a bath, combing my mane, and eating breakfast?” Diamond Tiara argued, pulling the bed sheets tighter around her, even using her mouth to keep them over her when Loving Care began to use her full strength to take them off the bed. “I want to sleep a little more.”
“There’s more to do than that today,” Loving Care announced as if it was normal. As Diamond Tiara peeked her head out in curiosity, Loving Care seized the opportunity and dutifully removed the covers, smiling warmly at the filly without even the slightest hint of animosity.
Diamond Tiara eyed her nanny warily as she moved from the bed slowly. Loving Care urged her from behind to move a little faster, gently nudging her towards the bathroom. What is with her? Diamond Tiara thought to herself. I have plenty of time.
After her morning bath, Diamond Tiara was groomed accordingly by her nanny. She made her brush her mane at least four times, making sure her mane was exactly as she liked it - without a hair out of place. Satisfied, she made her way to the bedroom door before Loving Care pulled on her tail just the slightest, urging her back.
“We’re not done yet, Miss Tiara,” Loving Care stated, reaching under the sink for something. “Your father asked me to make sure I didn’t let you leave for school without this.”
“Without wha…” Diamond Tiara began to ask, but her voice trailed off into silence as her nanny brought forth a large white bulky garment that could not be mistaken for anything else.
“Miss Tiara, please put this on,” Loving Care spoke plainly, but no matter how unassuming she managed to speak, Diamond Tiara could only react in horror as her lips found the words to speak again.”
“A diaper?” she shrieked, pointing at the undergarment in disbelief. “Daddy wants me to wear a diaper?!”
“That’s what your father said,” Loving Care replied dutifully. “For your punishment, you’ll wear a diaper to school just like the little filly you bullied until he and your teacher feel that you’ve learned your lesson.”
Indeed, she had been worried there would be a greater punishment. She had entertained the possibility of no trips to Carousel Boutique, no dessert, and extra chores, but wearing a diaper hadn’t even crossed her mind. Even now, as Loving Care was approaching her, holding the diaper in her mouth, she could not comprehend the meaning behind this as a punishment.
“This is some kind of joke, right?” she asked what she thought was a rhetorical question, but her nanny answered with kindness and sincerity as always.
“It’s no joke, Miss Tiara. If you hurry up and put it on, you may still have time for breakfast,” Loving Care said as she managed to get ahead of Diamond Tiara, shutting the door so she couldn’t run away. After all, though she was responsible for taking care of Diamond Tiara, she had a duty to her father as her employer to make sure to uphold any discipline and rules he set for his daughter.
“Forget breakfast,” Diamond Tiara stomped her foot on the floor in a huff. “Forget school! There is no way I am going anywhere wearing that.”
“Miss Tiara, you can’t miss school,” Loving Care insisted, having no room to let Diamond Tiara have her way like usual. “Now you can either put this on yourself or I will put it on for you.”
“You will do no such thing!” Diamond Tiara snarled, stomping her hooves on the floor incessantly. “I will not wear that to school!” To her classmates, this may have been considered threatening, but Loving Care only saw an impetuous little filly throwing a temper tantrum, and if that was how she insisted on behaving, her nanny had no problem treating her as such.
Asserting her strength over her charge, she picked Diamond Tiara up and placed her on her back on the bed, nudging her legs up as she kicked and squirmed, screaming loudly. Someone’s going to come and stop her, she thought as she made as much noise as possible, but nobody did. The entire staff knew of Diamond Tiara’s punishment and they had no intention of getting in the way.
Sliding the diaper under her hips, Loving Care worked quickly with great agility, dodging Diamond Tiara’s kicks, to tape the diaper snug around her flank. Diamond Tiara immediately tore it off, sat up, and threw it at Loving Care. As the soft padding hit her face and slid down her forehead, Loving Care’s expression changed from one of great compassion to stern discipline.
“Diamond Tiara,” Loving Care called her by her full name. “You will wear that diaper or I will tell your father you resisted your punishment.”
“And do what?” the filly dared her caretaker. “There’s nothing he can do that’s worse than this!”
“Your father has stated he will cancel the birthday party that he and Pinkie Pie have been planning for you if you don’t accept your punishment.”
Diamond Tiara froze where she was. That was only a little more than a month away and she had been planning it for months already. After her cuteceanara had gone off without a hitch, she asked her father to hire Pinkie Pie again for her birthday. After seeing what Pinkie Pie had done with Cheese Sandwich for Rainbow Dash, she wanted a party just as big if not bigger and better. They were going all out. There would be a roller coaster, acrobats, and a stage that Filthy Rich had told Diamond Tiara he was going to get Sapphire Shores to perform. The invitations were almost ready to go out. It was going to be the birthday party of her dreams… and if she didn’t wear that humiliating thing, it was all going to vanish into thin air.
“You’re lying,” Diamond Tiara accused her nanny, her voice trembling all the same over the possibility that it might be true. “Daddy would never cancel my party.”
“He can and will if you don’t cooperate,” Loving Care warned one last time. “Now lay down and hold still.”
Diamond Tiara sat perfectly still for a moment, testing her nanny’s resolve, but as she watched the mare’s eyes narrow, she slowly, reluctantly, began to lie back down on the bed. Having spent too much time fighting with her, Loving Care made quick, efficient work of diapering Diamond Tiara, patting her flank when she finished to get off the bed and head down for breakfast.
Making her way downstairs, Diamond Tiara took a seat at the kitchen table. She heard the diaper crinkle as she sat down. It wasn’t very loud, but to Diamond Tiara, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard, causing her to cringe at the sound. Randall hastily brought out a plate of wheat pancakes for her to eat within moments. She could tell from the first bite they had been prepared more than a few minutes ago and had gone cold while she fought with Loving Care. Lest she receive more scolding and possibly make herself late in leaving, she ate her breakfast without complaint, washing it down with a glass of apple juice before leaving for the schoolhouse.
None of the help had said a word to her about her diaper as she came downstairs, ate breakfast, or walked towards the front door. Despite how noticeable it was and how it made her look like a foal, she continued to move towards the door with her head down in shame.
“Miss Tiara,” she winced as she heard Loving Care coming from behind, holding her saddlebag. “You almost forgot your bags. I made sure to pack some extra diapers in case you need them."
“In case I need…?!” she started and quickly stopped, grinding and clenching her teeth as she reminded herself what would happen if she didn’t accept her punishment. She could not lose that party. Whatever the case, she would most certainly not use this thing, no matter what.
As Loving Care opened the door for her, she headed outside tentatively, taking small steps as she made her first outdoor appearance in diapers since she was a foal. “Now be good and don’t take it off,” Loving Care reminded her. “Miss Cheerilee will let your father know if you do.”
So much for that possibility, Diamond Tiara winced as the door closed behind her. Shifting the weight of her saddlebags, she slowly trotted towards town. On any normal day, she would meet Silver Spoon near Sugarcube Corner to walk the rest of the way, but the constant crinkling sound made her painfully aware that she could not do that.
Her pace slowed as she neared the more populated part of Ponyville that she had to cross to get to the schoolhouse. There would not be so many adult ponies out so early in the morning, but there would be some, and some was far too many ponies than she wanted to see her like this.
Maybe I don’t have to be seen at all, she thought as she trotted a little faster. Maybe I can just ditch school! No, Miss Cheerilee would know and tell Daddy and I’d lose the party. She slowed again, realizing there was no alternative to her plight. Her classmates were going to see her wearing a diaper, even Silver Spoon. She would never live it down.
As she came into town, she took extra care not to be seen, dipping and swerving in and out of buildings and alleys, making her way towards the schoolhouse as quietly and unseen as possible.
“Oooh, nice diaper!” she nearly jumped out of her coat as Pinkie Pie looked out the window alongside Sugarcube Corner down at her. “Very cushy!”
Diamond Tiara’s skin crawled as she was called out. Even if it was just Pinkie, who was well-known for her randomness, she was loud enough that anyone within a good distance could hear her, including some of her classmates on their way to school. Quickly, she dashed away and decided to take the long way around.
The school bell had already begun to ring to signal the beginning of the school day just as the building was coming into sight. She winced at the thought of being late, of Miss Cheerilee noticing. She hurried to make it so as not to be too late, but stopped as she crossed into the schoolyard, standing just outside of Miss Cheerilee’s peripheral view.
No, she thought as she stepped back into some bushes. Even though she had come this far in such an embarrassing outfit, she could not bring herself to take another step. She didn’t want anyone else to see her like this, not now, not ever. I don’t care if I lose the party. I’m not going in there.
She could not move one step forward or back as she cowered in the bushes, too afraid to go back into town, too afraid to show herself like this to her friends. I can’t take the diaper off and go in. Loving Care packed more so she could just put me in one in front of everyone if she wanted to.
Her mind was racing for possible ideas what to do next, but they all ended with being pointed and laughed at by young and old ponies alike. I’m not a foal, she repeated to herself, squeezing her eyes shut as she saw the laughing faces in her mind. I’m not a foal, I’m not a foal, I’m not a foal…
Inside the schoolhouse, Miss Cheerilee had already begun to take roll call.
“Apple Bloom?”
“Here!”
"Aura?”
“Here!”
“Berry Pinch?”
“Here!”
“Diamond Tiara? ... Diamond Tiara? Did anyone see Diamond Tiara on the way to school this morning?” Miss Cheerilee asked the class. She knew they would know if they did. It didn’t surprise her that Diamond Tiara may have tried to skip, but it would defeat the point of her punishment if she wasn’t put in Scootaloo’s position, who despite everything yesterday, had been coaxed again by her friends to come again today.
Miss Cheerilee smiled a bit at the disabled filly before continuing with the roll. When she had finished, she excused herself and headed outside to see if Diamond Tiara was anywhere to be found. Scanning the schoolyard, she saw a hint of white and purple fluff coming from the bushes and a small, scared voice softly crying “I’m not a foal” over and over again.
“Diamond Tiara?” Miss Cheerilee called out in the direction of the frightened filly. Diamond Tiara’s eyes widened as she looked to see part of her tail sticking out, quickly pulling it back in and hoping she would go away, but Miss Cheerilee would never turn her back on one of her students. “Diamond Tiara, I know it’s hard, but it’s time for school. Let’s go inside.”
“No,” she flatly refused, curling up tighter. “They’re all going to make fun of me. Nobody’s going to like me anymore!”
“Nobody’s going to make fun of you,” Miss Cheerilee tried to assure her, but it was impossible to convince Diamond Tiara, who had been the one bullying others up until yesterday. She remained vigilant though, as this is why Diamond Tiara was in this position to begin with. “I’ll wait for you as long as you need, but we’re going in there eventually.”
“I don’t want to!” Diamond Tiara cried, covering her mouth for fear her classmates might hear her from the classroom.
“Diamond Tiara, if you don’t come inside, ponies are going to start wondering why I’m standing out here by myself and start to watch,” Miss Cheerilee explained. They’ll see you coming out of the bushes like you are and that you were crying. You have a chance here to take this like a big filly or to prove to everyone you’re acting like a foal. It’s up to you.”
Diamond Tiara wished for time to stop right then and there and never ever go forward. Her chest tightened with every move of her body in any given direction. Whatever she did, she had already lost.
“You saw what I did when you made fun of Scootaloo,” Miss Cheerilee reminded her gently. “You’re one of my precious students too, and anyone who tries to bully you will get the same punishment.”
Diamond Tiara uncurled a little bit. She knew from her own experience there was no guarantee she wouldn’t be bullied, but if the other colts and fillies saw her and knew Miss Cheerilee really would talk to their parents about punishing them like this if they bullied her, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.
Trembling, she eased out of the bush behind Miss Cheerilee. She peaked to the schoolhouse, seeing a few ponies looking out at what was going on. “Can I stay behind you, until we get inside?” Diamond Tiara asked quietly.
“Of course,” Miss Cheerilee smiled, proud of Diamond Tiara’s bravery as they walked around to the front of the building and went inside. It was not a quick walk. Diamond Tiara was still incredibly hesitant about what would happen when everyone saw her like this. Having Miss Cheerilee make sure they wouldn’t laugh made her feel a little easier, but after years of being on top of the social pyramid, the smallest possibility that her entire image would be shattered in the blink of an eye left her feeling completely helpless and weak.
Miss Cheerilee opened the door for Diamond Tiara, making sure she went inside ahead of her. She was being given the choice to show her classmates how she was being punished on her own terms and she had to use that to her advantage. Although it took all of her courage and determination, she put on a brave face, neither smiling nor frowning, closed her eyes, and with a deep breath she stepped into the classroom.
She purposefully walked to her desk, eyes forward, keeping her gaze away from the eyes she could feel upon her diapered self. She did not react, focusing only on her desk, walking straight to it without a sound. As she passed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she could hear some murmuring. At least I’m not one of those blank flanks, she told herself as she passed by undeterred. Putting her saddlebag away, she sat at her desk and looked forward. She did not dare to cast her gaze aside to Silver Spoon.
“Class, you may notice something different today about Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee explained. Diamond Tiara slumped in her desk, closing her eyes and shutting out everyone around her. “She is being punished right now at the agreement of her father and I. Anyone caught bullying her for it will receive the same punishment, so be nice.”
Diamond Tiara smiled a little bit at Miss Cheerilee for keeping true to her word, but immediately lost that moment of relief when Miss Cheerilee turned to her knowingly. “And Diamond Tiara? For being late to class without an excuse, I want you to stay after class today.”
Diamond Tiara grumbled, letting out a quiet, exasperated “yes, Miss Cheerilee”. It was the kindest and most polite response she could manage under the circumstances. Her nerves were shot and it took everything she had to just focus ahead at Miss Cheerilee’s lesson. The hands of the clock crawled as slow as possible towards lunch and recess.
She winced every time she fidgeted in her seat, the diaper crinkling. It was quite warm that day and the lack of air in her diaper area was making her incredibly uncomfortable on top of everything else. This day can’t end fast enough, she thought as the bell mercifully signaled the halfway point of the day. Carefully, she slid away from her desk and made her way to the door. Though she tried not to make eye contact, she was met at the door by Silver Spoon.
She didn’t have to say a word to completely destroy any shred of dignity Diamond Tiara was clutching to. Her eyes narrowed, glaring at her knowingly with just the slightest smirk said everything all at once. Rather than say anything herself, she slowly backed away from the door. “Miss Cheerilee,” she asked as Silver Spoon went outside with the others. “Is it okay if I spend lunch and recess inside?”
Miss Cheerilee had expected this might happen. One of the things both she and Filthy Rich had agreed upon in Diamond Tiara’s punishment is that she would still have autonomy throughout her day. She could do anything she normally could as long as she wore her diaper, and if she didn't want to do something that made her uncomfortable, she would not be forced into it.
“I don’t mind, but wouldn’t you rather play with your friends?” Miss Cheerilee coaxed, hoping Diamond Tiara wouldn't allow her punishment to completely deter her from her everyday life.
“Then you’re welcome to stay inside,” Miss Cheerilee agreed. Diamond Tiara unpacked her lunch, eating her alfalfa sandwich halves while looking outside. Everyone was playing jump rope and tossing balls around and having so much fun, but she felt so isolated from all of them. How could something as pointless as wearing a diaper made her feel so alone?
Outside, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were eating lunch together at a wooden table, sharing their own shock and awe over Diamond Tiara’s new appearance where Miss Cheerilee wouldn’t see or hear them.
“Ah can’t believe it!” Apple Bloom exclaimed with a mouth full of hay chips. “Diamond Tiara in a diaper! Ah never thought I’d ever see that!”
“Do you realize what this means?” Sweetie Belle asked her friends, positively giddy. “She’s not going to be popular anymore, which means she can’t bully us anymore! If anything, she’s the one that’s going to get bullied!”
Scootaloo didn’t feel comfortable with Sweetie Belle’s enthusiasm, herself wearing the same padding even if it was for a different reason. She couldn’t necessarily feel sorry for Diamond Tiara, but she couldn’t exactly stand by and let Sweetie Belle get excited about Diamond Tiara getting bullied for the same thing.
“Yeah, but Miss Cheerilee said we’ll all get the same punishment if we bully her,” Scootaloo reminded them.
“Scootaloo, that's why you should be the one most excited,” Apple Bloom rebutted. “She can’t give you the same punishment. If anyone in our class can really give Diamond Tiara what for now, it’s you!”
“She’s probably already giving herself what for as we speak,” Scootaloo predicted, knowing how shameful it felt coming to school yesterday wearing a diaper herself.
“Good,” Sweetie Belle acknowledged, taking a sip from her apple juice. “Now she’ll know how it feels.”
It wasn’t that Scootaloo didn’t agree with her friends. Diamond Tiara had this coming for a long time. It wasn’t to anyone’s surprise that karma had finally caught up with her. Still, being in a similar position, she knew it wouldn’t make her any better a pony if she treated Diamond Tiara the same way Diamond Tiara had treated her.
Inside, Diamond Tiara had grown restless of hearing the joyful voices outside. Maybe if she were nice, someone would still want to play with her, maybe even Silver Spoon. “Miss Cheerilee, is it okay if I go outside for the rest of recess?” she asked politely.
Miss Cheerilee smiled approvingly. “Of course you can,” she answered sweetly. “But you’re always welcome to come back inside if you change your mind.”
Diamond Tiara nodded and got down from her desk, making out of the classroom. Immediately outside, she could see Silver Spoon playing Double Dutch with Peachy Pie and Sunny Days. Diamond Tiara smiled, walking over. “Is it okay if I play too?” she asked uncharacteristically shy.
Silver Spoon jumped out of the ropes and strutted over to Diamond Tiara, showing her claim over her friend as the new head of the popularity chain. “Double Dutch is a game for big ponies, not little foals. Maybe you’d feel more comfortable crawling around in the sandbox,” Silver Spoon mocked Diamond Tiara relentlessly.
Crushed by the insults, especially given they were coming from her best friend, Diamond Tiara stepped back a bit, not sure how to react. “I'm not a foal! You better apologize or I'll tell Miss Cheerilee!”
“Of course you will," Silver Spoon taunted her. "Only foals tattle and wear diapers,” Silver Spoon argued. “Or is that some new fancy clothing from Manehattan?” All three fillies couldn’t help but snicker at Silver Spoon’s remark.
“I…” Diamond Tiara began, biting her lip, trying not to show any sign of weakness or sadness. “I thought you were my friend.”
“I don’t have any friends who are foals, especially not you, Diapered Tiara,” Silver Spoon replied, making sure to emphasize the cruel nickname. Her words fired off her tongue, drilling them into Diamond Tiara’s psyche without hesitation. Tears welled at the corner of her eyes as she struggled to fix her resolved, doing so in a loud outburst.
“I am not a foal! I still have my cutie mark! I’m still the most popular pony in class! Just because this is how I’m being punished doesn’t make me any less a pony!”
Silver Spoon was taken aback to be on the receiving end of Diamond Tiara’s wrath. Yet her furious demeanor was belied by the absurdity of the diaper. It gave her just the chance to see if she really was a foal or not. “Prove it.”
“What?” Diamond Tiara asked, taken aback herself this time.
“If you’re not a foal, prove it. Make it through the rest of the day without using your diaper. Only foals do that, so it should be easy for you, right?” Silver Spoon dared her with a smug look on her face.
Diamond Tiara frowned, sticking her hoof out. “Fine! And when I make it through the day, you'll apologize and quit calling me a foal!”
“Deal,” Silver Spoon agreed, hoof-bumping Diamond Tiara as the bell rang for all the ponies to come back inside for the afternoon. Diamond Tiara made her way in first, taking a seat at her desk again.
This’ll be a piece of cake, Diamond Tiara thought as everyone took their seats and Miss Cheerilee began. I’ll show her. I’ll show them all.
It didn’t take long for Diamond Tiara to regret her decision to accept Silver Spoon’s conditions. Only an hour had passed before she felt a twinge in her bladder that she needed to go. Thinking Miss Cheerilee wouldn’t be so cruel as to actually make her use her diaper, she raised her hoof in the middle of the lesson to get her teacher’s attention.
“Yes, Diamond Tiara?” Miss Cheerilee acknowledged her.
“Miss Cheerilee, may I please use the restroom?” she asked in her kindest voice, hoping and praying the answer would be yes.
“I’m sorry, Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee dashed her hopes swiftly. “I’ll ask you please wait until the end of the day if you can.”
Another twinge of her bladder signaled an impending doom the likes of which made her previous embarrassments today seem miniscule. Her eyes widened as she tried to focus on the lesson as Silver Spoon eyed her knowingly. It was going to take a great deal of strength for her to make it through Miss Cheerilee’s afternoon lesson without bursting at the seams.
The clock seemed to tick on endlessly as she patiently waited for the end of the day, squeezing her legs together as the urges to release became stronger and more frequent. I’m not a foal, she thought to herself over and over again with an iron will to make it through the day and prove to Silver Spoon she was wrong.
Ahead of her, Scootaloo was in a similar position. Like Diamond Tiara, she too was not going to give up despite wearing a diaper. She strained as much as she could, but like every day since her accident, it was a battle she quickly lost. She sighed in defeat as the padding became heavier, hoping nobody would notice. Part of her wondered if Diamond Tiara would actually manage to hold up. No, Scootaloo shook her head a little, putting those thoughts out of her mind. I shouldn’t care about what happens to her. That’s her problem.
Diamond Tiara’s problem though was quickly spiraling out of her control. She had drowned out Miss Cheerilee’s lesson nearly an hour after she had been declined to go to the restroom. Her hooves were in her lap now, holding herself in futility. Some of her classmates were starting to notice her panicking, including Silver Spoon. Her cheeks had flushed red as sweat began to trickle down her brow.
She forced herself to ignore the audience she was attracting, focusing only on the clock. There was only an hour left in the day. If she could just hold on until then, she would be free. She kept looking forward to that point in time an hour from now, when she’d turn to Silver Spoon and make her apologize, when all the ponies would recognize that, even though she had to wear a diaper to class for a few days, she was not a foal herself. She would show them all exactly the kind of pony she really was.
The second hand seemed to slow down in the last hour as the hands crawled slowly towards three o’clock. She squirmed and gasped, clutching herself and wincing in pain. Miss Cheerilee could see Diamond Tiara squirming and whimpering in her seat. This was not the kind of thing she intended to happen and she was afraid her student would hurt herself if she kept trying to hold it in any longer.
“Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee conceded. “If you still need to you the restroom, you can…”
“Yes!” the filly gasped, clawing at her desk and pushing herself off. Her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head as the numbness of her bladder was overtaken by standing up on all fours and feeling the weight of her urges pull down towards the exit. Tears were welling at her eyes as she commanded each of her hooves to move as fast as possible, out of the classroom and to the restroom.
She could feel it starting to come. It didn’t matter as long as she was out of Silver Spoon’s line of sight, as long as she didn’t show her a side of herself she hadn’t shown the world since she was a foal. Hold it, she commanded herself as she picked up the pace down the aisle of desks towards the exit. Hold it, hold it, almost there, almost there, almost…
In her binocular-like focus on getting to the door, her back right hoof walked forward before her front right hoof did, throwing her off balance. She gasped as she slipped on the wooden floor and toppled over. Her sense of falling overtook every other command over her body, reacting only towards making sure she was not hurt in the fall. She managed to stop herself, but in the one moment where her attention was lost, it happened.
She didn’t even realize it at first as her bladder had almost numbed entirely to the urge, but as a sensation of steamy warmth crawled over her bottom, it slowly dawned on her what was happening. She could feel the weight of the diaper pulling downward, the elastic around her waist tightening on her backside as the garment began to droop and darken just the slightest. She couldn’t stop if she wanted to. The numbness had made it so her muscles could not respond at that moment.
As the weight of the diaper pulled downward, she looked ahead. She had reached the door, and so behind her was the classroom, looking at her, staring at her as she remained frozen in fear. Maybe they didn’t see, Diamond Tiara told herself, desperate to convince herself everything was still fine. Maybe nobody noticed at all.
But as she turned around, she could see their eyes, all of their eyes, upon her and her sodden diaper. Her lips parted as if to say something, but instead they just hung there, frozen and aimlessly searching for the words to say that would make everything okay and finding nothing. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were dumbfounded, Scootaloo looked away, and Silver Spoon was doing her best to suppress the slightest smile of victory. It wasn’t until Miss Cheerilee approached her that she snapped out of her frozen state.
“Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee approached her cautiously. “Are you okay?”
Diamond Tiara made a dash out of the room towards the restroom. She locked herself inside and began to pant heavily as a thorny knot of anxiety began to constrict itself around her heart. She quickly examined her diaper and noticed its state. There was no way anyone didn’t see what she did. Just the mere realization of her circumstances reduced her to tears.
“Diamond Tiara?” she heard Miss Cheerilee’s voice through the restroom door.
“Go away!” she screamed at the door, forcing Miss Cheerilee back. "It's your fault you didn't let me go sooner!"
Miss Cheerilee backed away from the door quietly, returning to the lecture for the end of the day. In the classroom, commotion was already brewing over the image the school ponies would never be able to erase from their minds.
“She did it in front of everyone!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “Did you see the look on her face! I’ve never seen Diamond Tiara so terrified in all my life!”
“Ah can’t understand why she made such a scene,” Apple Bloom questioned. “If she hadn’t held it like that, ah doubt anyone would have noticed.”
“She had to prove herself,” Silver Spoon confirmed proudly. “Just like always, she had to have her way. She really is just a big foal.”
“Enough!” Scootaloo shouted at the top of her lungs, banging down on her desk with her two front hooves and bringing the room to silence. The orange coat of her face was turning bright red in frustration for conversation she was hearing around her. “Couldn’t you see she felt horrible enough as it is? None of you have to say or do anything to make it worse, so stop it!”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn’t tell if Scootaloo felt sorry for Diamond Tiara or not, but seeing their friend so visibly upset, they complied with her wishes, as the other ponies. As Miss Cheerilee entered the classroom again, the lesson was finished in relative quiet with the softest sounds of Diamond Tiara’s tears coming from down the hall.
---
Diamond Tiara kept herself locked in the restroom until the school bell rang and class had ended. As the sound of hooves passed out the door and down the hall, she waited for them to pass before she decided to open the door again. She only opened it a crack, but paused as her line of sight met Silver Spoon looking at her through the crack in the door intently.
“Go away,” Diamond Tiara sputtered, still breathing heavily from her crying. “I don’t want to talk to you. I thought you were my friend.”
“I told you, I’m not friends with foals,” Silver Spoon repeated. “Maybe when you grow up, we can be friends again.”
“Grow up?” Diamond Tiara asked, her voice croaking under her sadness, but Silver Spoon did not acknowledge any other clue as to what she meant and walked away, leaving her alone as she entered the hallway. The warmth of her diaper was growing colder, making her walk funny as she made her way back to the classroom for her saddlebags.
She opened the door, expecting only to find Miss Cheerilee still there, but looked to see her putting a small purple sheet over her desk and hoisting Scootaloo on top and laying her down. Diamond Tiara stared for a moment, realizing Miss Cheerilee was about to change Scootaloo’s diaper, before turning away and heading back to her desk to get her stuff.
Scootaloo waited for Diamond Tiara to make some snide comment, but she kept her mouth shut as she slowly walked to her desk and gathered her things.
“Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee reminded her. “Remember you have to stay after class for being late.”
The pink filly cringed at the reminder. As if this day couldn’t go on any longer, she groaned inside as she took her seat and put her head down in her desk, shutting out the world.
Scootaloo watched her from atop the desk as Miss Cheerilee removed her diaper, cleaned her up and diapered her anew. Looking at Diamond Tiara, she felt content and a sense that karma had taken its course on the pink pony for all the mental anguish she had put her through over the years. Yet through that sense of satisfaction, a strange feeling, a burning sensation beat within her and from it blossomed a feeling of guilt that lightly shrouded her heart. Was she herself any better to think Diamond Tiara got what she deserved? Was that not her in that position yesterday? Was it fair to think on that same level? Scootaloo could not make sense of this feeling of guilt as she looked at Diamond Tiara, but wanted to make sense of it all the same.
“Is something wrong, Scootaloo?” Miss Cheerilee asked as she helped the orange filly sit up.
“Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo called out. “You need a change too, right? Come over here.”
Diamond Tiara raised her head, glaring at Scootaloo with still-puffy eyes. “Why?” she managed to ask. “So you can watch and make fun of me for it yourself?”
“Because you’ll get a rash if you don’t,” Scootaloo argued back. “And trust me, you don’t want that.”
“It’s not like you care,” Diamond Tiara pouted, putting her head back down. “Forget it.”
“Do you really want to stay in that wet diaper?” Miss Cheerilee asked. “Scootaloo and I aren’t going to make fun of you for it and you’ll feel a lot better.”
“I’m not a foal!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “I don’t need my diaper changed like one!”
“And you think I do?” Scootaloo growled right back at her. “That’s your problem - you never think before you speak and your words hurt whether you mean them or not! I’m not wearing this because I’m a foal; I’m wearing it because I can barely feel anything below my flank! Now get over here and get your diaper changed!”
“Scootaloo,” Miss Cheerilee addressed her, petting her mane gently. “It’s okay. You don’t need to get all excited.”
“Sorry,” Scootaloo muttered as Miss Cheerilee helped her back into her wheelchair. “Sorry, Diamond Tiara.”
“It’s okay,” Miss Cheerilee told her reassuringly. “If she doesn’t want a change, we can’t force her.”
“Actually,” Diamond Tiara spoke up, her eyes looking downward. “I don’t think I’d mind it too much.”
“Do you want me to change you or would you rather take care of it yourself?” Miss Cheerilee asked, making sure Diamond Tiara understood she had a choice.
“I’ve never changed a diaper,” she stated. “Much less my own, so…” her voice trailed off, not wanting to say it outright. Instead, Miss Cheerilee smiled and patted on her desk.
Diamond Tiara got her saddlebag with her extra diapers and brought them over. Fully able, unlike Scootaloo, she got on the desk herself and lay down. She instinctively looked to Scootaloo, waiting to see her reaction to the sight of the class diva getting her diaper changed like a foal, but Scootaloo didn’t show any interest whatsoever as she pulled out a Daring Do book and began to read while Miss Cheerilee took care of the other pony.
Diamond Tiara crossed her front legs as Miss Cheerilee began to untape her diaper. “How do you put up with other ponies making fun of you?” Diamond Tiara asked Scootaloo in a rare moment of openness.
“I don’t have to put up with it from other ponies,” Scootaloo replied, not even looking up from her book. “You and Silver Spoon are the only ones who ever do, and even then, it's mostly you.”
“That can’t be true,” Diamond Tiara replied. “Everyone was making fun of me today, so I was sure you get made fun of just as much.”
“Maybe you had it coming,” Scootaloo told her. “Maybe they thought you did too.”
Even Silver Spoon? Diamond Tiara thought, thinking back to how her best friend had treated her. All the teasing, the bet… ratting me out yesterday… does Silver Spoon not like me anymore?
The thought brought fresh tears to the corners of Diamond Tiara’s eyes while Cheerilee was cleaning her up. This feeling of helplessness, feeling so alone and weak… she felt she could curl up into a ball and shrink into nothingness altogether.
“Oh dear,” Miss Cheerilee sighed, wiping at the filly’s eyes with a tissue. “It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?”
Diamond Tiara nodded as she looked up at Miss Cheerilee from the vantage point a foal would have if they were being changed. She whimpered softly as Miss Cheerilee finished putting a new diaper on her, taping it up, and helping her sit up on the desk. The cool dryness of the new diaper really did feel good, but her heart still ached for the reality of her situation and how those around her saw her.
Miss Cheerilee couldn’t stand to see Diamond Tiara in so much pain, even though she knew she would be better for it in the end. She pulled the filly close and gently rubbed her back comfortingly. It was like a feeling Diamond Tiara had known only so long ago. “There, there,” Miss Cheerilee soothed. “Everything’s going to be okay, you’ll see. This is only temporary. In a few days, this will all be over.”
“Why can’t it be over now?” Diamond Tiara sniffled, holding onto Miss Cheerilee in return, sensing a compassion she had not sense in many years, not from her work-addled father, not from the nanny who took care of her but only in the sense of it being a job… had this feeling always been here inside her and had she forgotten what it felt like for so long? “I want everything to be okay now.”
“I know you do,” Miss Cheerilee continued to coax the filly. “I knew the first day would be hard for you, but it will get better. I won’t let you feel like this is the end of the world.”
As Scootaloo was running late with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle waiting outside, Miss Cheerilee quickly helped Diamond Tiara down and folded up the purple sheet, putting it back in Scootaloo’s bags along with her other diaper supplies. “I’ll be right back, Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee told her as she wheeled Scootaloo outside so Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle could make sure she got home okay.
---
As Apple Bloom wheeled Scootaloo through Ponyville with Sweetie Belle, the two chatterboxes could barely contain their excitement after witnessing Diamond Tiara’s punishment firsthand.
“And did you see how poofy it was?” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked with the biggest grin on her face at being able to witness the perfect justice for all the times Diamond Tiara had picked on and bullied the three of them. “It looked like it was even bigger than yours, Scootaloo!”
“Yeah, and the way she tried so hard to hold it,” Apple Bloom commented. “She looked just like a little filly getting potty trained!”
“Guys, stop it,” Scootaloo spoke adamantly. “Did you forget who you’re talking to?”
“Well, we know you’re not a foal, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom told her reassuringly. “But if there’s anyone who deserves to get treated like one, it’s Diamond Tiara!”
“You guys sound like you did when we were planning to make Babs look like a fool,” Scootaloo told them straight out, noticing her friends were getting too carried away in the joy of seeing their bully get comeuppance.
“Scootaloo, that was diff’rent,” Apple Bloom defended her and Sweetie Belle. “Babs was just a normal filly like us.”
“And so is Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo found herself saying to her own surprise. “We’re no better than her if we talk like this behind her back.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked down at the ground, disappointed in how they were acting now that Scootaloo had reminded them of the lesson they had learned before. “I suppose you’re right,” Sweetie Belle admitted.
“But it’s Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom repeated, as if Diamond Tiara was a force unequal to other ponies and unequal of the same treatment. “Do you really that sorry for her?”
Scootaloo shrank in her wheelchair, looking down then up into the distance of the setting sun. She decided to be honest with her friends; “I’m not sure.”
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Miss Cheerilee returned a few moments after seeing the Cutie Mark Crusaders off to find Diamond Tiara at her desk, contemplating what had just happened. “Miss Cheerilee… did I really deserve all this?” she asked softly, ready to burst into tears again. The sight of the heartbroken filly made her heart twinge as she second-guessed if this punishment was right. She wanted Diamond Tiara to understand what Scootaloo was going through, even if just a little, but she had not expected the filly would have taken it as harshly as she did.
“I’ll tell you what,” Miss Cheerilee offered to Diamond Tiara. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve learned from today? If I feel you’ve learned your lesson, I’ll send a letter home with you saying the punishment’s over.”
“Okay,” Diamond Tiara gasped excitedly. “I learned… I learned that some ponies can’t help being in a position that makes them embarrassed and that I shouldn’t make fun of them, even if it is embarrassing.” Miss Cheerilee nodded thoughtfully, smiling a little bit. Diamond Tiara’s heart leapt at the sight of her teacher’s approval. “Does that mean it’s over?”
“You’re definitely on the right track,” Miss Cheerilee acknowledged. “Let’s give it a few more days.”
“A few more days?” Diamond Tiara whined, throwing her hooves over her desk in exasperation. “But I thought I got it!”
“You’re missing what that means to you,” Miss Cheerilee hinted. “When you figure that out, come tell me.”
Diamond Tiara grumbled a little bit, shutting her eyes disappointingly that she’d be back here tomorrow, all padded up. She hung on Miss Cheerilee’s words thoughtfully. What that means to me? But it doesn’t mean anything to me. Once this is over, I’ll be the same as I always was. What could it possible mean to me?
Unfortunately, the clock struck four and Diamond Tiara was let go from Miss Cheerilee’s care for the day, back home. After embarrassing herself in front of the entire class, she didn’t think anything of walking through the center of Ponyville in a diaper. The stares of strangers meant little to her after seeing the stares of the ponies closest to her.
She made her way back home, quick as she could, already late from staying after class. As she arrived home, Randall dutifully took her bags. Walking through the door made her feel so much more tired than she normally felt. She yawned as she trudged into the mansion and made her way upstairs. Loving Care was waiting for her at the top of the steps.
“Good afternoon, Miss Tiara,” she dutifully greeted. “Would you like to remove your diaper for the day now?”
“I don’t care,” Diamond Tiara muttered, walking right past her nanny. “I think I’m going to take a nap.”
“Oh…” Loving Care replied, taken aback by Diamond Tiara’s lack of usual assertiveness. She watched, worried as the filly entered her room and closed the door softly.
Throwing herself down on the bed, Diamond Tiara curled up into a ball on her bed. The day had been so long. So many things had gone wrong, but despite how horrible she felt, she could not stop thinking about what happened after school, what Scootaloo had said to her, how Miss Cheerilee had comforted her. She curled tighter at the thought of Miss Cheerilee, how it felt to be comforted and shown compassion. Nobody showed her that feeling anymore. She had almost forgotten it had existed, and it made her feel good. It made her feel worth something despite how worthless she had felt immediately before that feeling had surfaced. She thought about that feeling more and more, until a face, so very blurry in her mind, resurfaced after having been forgotten long ago.
Mommy… Diamond Tiara thought, a small tear forming at the corner of one of her eyes. Is that how it felt when you were here?
