What A Day
Milano "Love Tap" Mash hummed a little tune in her head as she trotted through the door, and into the familiar tiled floors of her home. A white saddle bag hung neatly over her left shoulder, its contents unknown to everyone but her.
"It's so good to be home." Milano thought to herself, as she carefully set the saddle bag on the floor, and tucked it into a corner. For right now, she had no intention to make use of what was stored inside said bag, it contained "supplies" in case of an "emergency".
"Button, I'm home." Milano called, expecting to hear a reply from her youngest son.
But all she heard was "Come on, get in the ball! I've weakened you and paralyzed you, and it's been almost twenty turns! Why won't you stay in the ball already?!"
Milano sighed, she knew how much Button loved video games, and how much time he would often spend playing them. However, she wanted to turn his attention away from his video games, just for a little while. They wouldn't be going anywhere.
"Button Mash, please come down here." Milano called again, a little bit louder. But again there was no response.
"Oh come on!" Button's groan of frustration echoed from upstairs "You almost stayed in it that time! How long are you going to keep tormenting me like this?!"
Now, Milano was a patient mare, and she tolerated a lot of things. But to have her son continue to not respond to her was enough to make her just the slightest bit unhappy. As a small frown forced its way onto her face, she called out "Button Memory Mash, come down here, now!"
This time, her efforts were rewarded with the response she had wanted so badly. "In a minute, Mom! I'm in the middle of something!" Button shouted back.
"Button, I'm giving you to the count of three to come down here, or I'm coming up!" Milano said seriously, and began to count.
Just before she reached three, a powerful and joyous shout of "YES! I FINALLY CAUGHT YOU!" reached her ears. By Celestia, Button had quite the set of pipes (as Milano had learned all too well over the years). By the time she had recovered from the blast (and saw to her relief that none of the windows in the house had shattered), Button came trotting down the stairs at a tremendous rate.
"Sorry about that, Mom," Button apologized, as he adjusted his propeller hat slightly "I was trying to catch Entei to complete the trio. It was being a real pain in the flank, but it's finally mine! I think I'm gonna call it Fluffy just for the fun of it."
Milano smiled, but retained her composure as best she could "That's nice, Button. But when I call your name, I expect you to reply," she said seriously "All you needed to do was reply 'Yes, Mom.' or 'I'll be down shortly, Mom.' Can you remember that for next time?"
"Of course I can," Button nodded. Then his eyes caught sight of something on his mom's rear end, something big and white. Upon blinking and rubbing his eyes, Button saw that he hadn't imagined things. "Mom, why are you wearing a diaper?" he asked "Did something happen to you?!"
"I'm fine, Button. But thank you for worrying about me." Milano said sweetly.
"So then, what's with the diaper?" Button asked.
"If you must know, I'm wearing it at the request of a friend." Milano explained.
"Really? Who is it?" Button asked eagerly.
"That's not something you need to know," Milano told Button, a look of seriousness appearing in her eyes "My friend doesn't want other ponies to know, and I intend to respect said friend's wish. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mom." Button said reluctantly. As much as he may have wanted to find out who could possibly want his mom to wear a diaper, he could tell that his mom wasn't going to provide any answers.
Milano smiled, and lovingly patted Button on the head "You just go back to playing with your video games, okay sweetie. I'll let you know if I need a change."
"Okay. Wait, what?!" Button exclaimed.
"Nothing, just a joke." Milano replied with a giggle.
Button shrugged, and trotted away. Sometimes, his mom could be really weird. And it seemed like this was one of those times. He quickly trotted upstairs, content to play his Joyboy, and hopefully forget all about what he'd just found out.
Milano couldn't help but chuckle to herself a bit. "Button sures does love his video games. Ever since he got his hooves on that Joyboy, he's almost always playing it." And she could recall how excited Button had been on the day he received his Joyboy as a present:
It happened many years ago, before Princess Twilight had moved to town. It was Hearth's Warming, and all of Ponyville was firmly in the grip of holiday fever. A fresh layer of fluffy white snow coated the ground, snow which, when coupled with the bright lights and festivities reefs and trees, made for a sight that would be right at home in a Hearth's Warming themed card.
The Mash family household was no exception. Every inch of the house was decked out in the traditional Hearth's Warming lights and yard displays. In the living room there stood a small tree, completely covered with lights, popcorn chains, and tinsel. At the top of it rested a small star, and beneath it lay a huge variety of presents big and small alike.
One of the presents was a small cardboard box, covered in alternating red and green wrapping paper, and topped with a gold paper bow. And this was the very present that Button decided would be his first present to open.
"Go ahead, Button," his parents encouraged "Open it up."
Button eagerly began to rip apart the wrapping paper without hesitation, and despite the seemingly odd glance from his brother, Gibson. In a matter of seconds, the wrapping paper had been ripped up, and Button began to peel away the tape holding the cardboard box shut.
When at last, Button was able to open the box, his eyes beheld a small rectangular object that was an olive green in color, and had a small screen. Upon seeing it, his eyes grew wider and wider. "Is this what I think it is?!" he asked eagerly, turning to face his parents.
"Indeed it is, it's a JoyBoy, the latest in fun and entertainment!" Milano said with a smile "And it's all yours! It comes with a series of games that you can play on it!"
"Oh, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Button exclaimed, as he rushed forward, and gave his mom and dad the biggest hug he could "This is the best present any kid could get!"
In the time since obtaining that joyboy, Button had become almost completely attached to it, despite the growing number of consoles that occasionally cluttered the floor of his bedroom. And the one game (though it was actually a series of games released every year or couple of years) that he played more than any other, was this cultural phenomenon called Pokemon.
"Hard to believe that wasn't his first game." Milano thought to herself, remembering that the very first video game Button ever played, had involved this mustached stallion with a red cap.
Pushing the thoughts about video games out of her mind, Milano turned her attention to her diaper, relieved to see that it was still clean.
After quickly checking around the house to see that there was nothing else that needed immediate attention, Milano walked into the living room, and plopped down on the lush, red sofa. When she did so, her diaper gave off a light crinkle, reminding her of its presence.
"Let's see what the latest, hottest gossip is." she said to herself, as she bent over to retrieve a magazine from a stack that rested just behind the sofa.
Milano quickly occupied herself with reading through the various magazines, and forgot all about her diaper. As far as she was concerned, it was a small detail that she didn't need to worry about. Sure, it felt different, but that didn't mean it needed to completely occupy her attention. In fact, as time went on, Milano found that she actually was growing to like the feel of having a diaper hugging her rear, just a little.
As she put down her fifth magazine, Milano heard her stomach give off a loud grumble. She knew what that meant. "Guess it's feeding time." she thought to herself, as she slowly got up from the sofa, and planted her hooves on the floor. Then, she trotted to the kitchen. As she did so, she found that if she didn't concentrate hard enough, the diaper gave her movements a slight waddle.
Despite this discovery, it did not take Milano long to reach the kitchen, by which point her stomach was constantly reminding her of just how hungry it was. "Maybe next time I should eat a bigger breakfast. Or not wait so long to eat lunch." she thought to herself, chuckling at the idea that she was unintentionally scolding herself for her own behavior, as if she were a child.
Milano quickly decided to fix herself a salad, and began to search through the cupboards for a salad bowl. Soon after beginning her search, Milano spotted something out of the corner of her eye.
Her curiosity getting the best of her, Milano pushed the cups and dishes aside as best she could, and pulled out the object that had captured her attention. When she finally got a good look at it, Milano was surprised to discover that it was an old baby bottle not unlike the one displayed on her cutie mark. The bottle was rather dusty, and the paint on the nipple had faded a bit, but otherwise it seemed to still be in good condition.
"Funny, I could've sworn I tossed this bottle out after Button no longer needed it." Milano thought to herself, as she held the bottle in her hooves. As she did so, memories of when Button was just a little pony came flooding back to her. One memory in particular stood out amongst the rest:
Button (who, at this point, barely came up to the bottom of his mother's legs) was sitting in his highchair, a bib tied around his little neck. His stomach was rumbling so loudly that it could heard from across the house.
"Mommy, I hungie!" Button pouted, pounding his hooves on the bar of his highchair.
"I know, Button, I know," Milano replied, as she placed the bottle full of fresh milk into the microwave to heat it up "It's almost ready, just be patient."
But Button wouldn't be patient, his stomach kept on rumbling, and he wanted it to stop. "Mommy! Hungie!" he complained, wiggling about in his highchair in a vain attempt to get out..
"Just give it a minute, Button," Milano advised "It won't taste good if I don't heat it up." And she waited for the microwave to ding so she could take the bottle out. Normally, she would've given Button a pacifier to suck on until his bottle was ready. But his pacifier was currently being cleaned, and so Milano had to reluctantly do without it.
After what felt like an eternity of listening to her son shout "Mommy! Hungie!" over and over again, the familiar ding of the microwave informed Milano that the bottle was ready. Quick as a flash, she took the bottle out of the microwave, and inserted the nipple into her son's mouth.
Button (with little hesitation) eagerly began to suck down the delicious milk. He'd waited for so long that he felt he was going to die of hunger before the bottle was ready.
"Not so fast there, Button!" Milano advised, but her son ignored her and continued to suck down the milk as fast as he could. When at last he was finished, there was not a single drop of milk left in the bottle. "My goodness, you were certainly hungry!" Milano exclaimed, as she picked her son up, and patted him on the back.
Suddenly, Button let out a tremendous burp! It was so powerful that it almost blew Milano away, and she wondered how the windows hadn't shattered from the intensity of the blast. "Cuse me." Button Mash giggled.
"You're excused, Button," Milano said sweetly "But next time, don't drink your milk so fast, and that won't happen."
"What in the wide world of Equestria was that?!" Gibson called angrily from upstairs "I was just practicing on my guitar, and then this tremendous noise knocked down my notes!"
"That was Button." Milano explained.
"That's the third time this month he's done that," Gibson complained "I swear, it's like you let him do it on purpose or something!"
"Now, Gibson, you were no better when you were Button's age," Milano scolded "You were quite the troublemaker as well. And you often liked to burp in my face. So don't judge Button for something you did when you were little. I promise you, I will deal with Button's rude behavior."
"Whatever," Gibson responded "But if he does that again, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"
Milano giggled at the memory, before she carefully put the bottle back where she had found it. "I'll probably donate it to a daycare center the next time I go out." she thought to herself, as she retrieved a salad bowl and closed the cupboard.
Milano then quickly occupied herself with preparing a fresh salad for lunch, and no further memories from years ago came back to her.
When lunch was completed, and the dishes put away, Milano began to trot back to the living room to resume her reading. But she stopped just as she passed by the stairway leading upstairs. She could still hear the sounds of Button occupying himself with his video games.
That's when an idea came into her mind "It's been awhile since I've done anything with Button," she thought to herself, then she giggled again "It sure beats sitting on my diapered rump like a lazy foal." And with that, her decision was made.
After retrieving her saddle bag from where she had left it earlier, Milano made her way upstairs. When she entered her son’s room, she took great care to step over the wires of the various consoles that lay scattered around. "Hello, Button." she greeted cheerfully.
Button turned his attention away from his video games, and faced his mom with a look of uncertainty. He was hoping that, perhaps by playing his video games, he could forget about what he'd seen. And yet, his mom was standing before him in all her diapered detail, and clearly trying to speak to him. Unsure of how to respond he nervously said "Uh, hi." All the while, trying his hardest to maintain a sincere smile.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I came up here," Milano said, before smiling brightly "Before you ask, you're not in any sort of trouble."
"Okay?" Button said nervously.
"I was just wondering if you'd be willing to play one of your video games with me." Milano proposed.
Button wasn't sure he'd heard his mother right. She actually wanted to play a video game? The thought of it quickly made him laugh "Very funny, Mom. You, wanting to play one of my video games. That's a good one," But to Button's surprise, his mother just continued to stare at him "You're being serious?" he asked, his mom nodding in response "Well... what sort of game did you want to play? I've got all kind of games. First Pony Shooters, Party Games, RPGs, Platformer and Puzzle Co-ops, and even Fighting Games."
"How about that fighting game featuring all those video game characters battling against each other, and trying to knock each other off various stages?" Milano suggested "I'm sure you know what one I'm talking about."
"Oh, are you absolutely sure you want to play that?" Button asked his mom "It's not too difficult to play, but if you really want to get the most out of it, you've got to play it a lot. There's practically a gazillion different fighters to choose from, and each of them have their own fighting style. Well, except for maybe one or two clones, but that's still a huge collection of fighting styles to pick from, and some of them can be really difficult to use for newcomers."
"Then you can help me pick who to play as," Milano suggested "That is, unless you're afraid you'll lose to your own mother."
"What?! Since when do you play video games?" Button exclaimed.
"More often than you might think, Button." Milano bluffed, sitting down on her padded tush. By now, the crinkling noise was something she didn’t mind at all.
Of course, Milano knew that she had very little experience with video games. And the few she had played, she would hardly consider herself an expert on. But she knew Button well enough to know that he was never the kind of pony to turn down a challenge.
Sure enough, Milano could easily see the fire in her son's eyes, as he put his Joyboy down on the dresser next to his bed. "Oh, there is no way I'm going to lose to you!" he exclaimed boldly, as he retrieved the game his mom had described, and set to work on hooking up the system required to play it "But don't actually cry like a baby when I beat you, just because you're wearing a diaper!"
"I'm not a baby, Button." Milano replied.
"Nu-uh, you're totally a baby! A really big baby!" Button teased, as he finished hooking up the system, turned it on, and inserted the game disc "Prepare to lose!"
Despite receiving some helpful advice from her son about what fighters to pick, and what fighters to stay away from, Milano didn't have that much luck against her son. No matter who the character she picked was, or what stage her character and her son's character fought on, she was unable to win a single match. At best, she was able to take away one or sometimes two of the lives of her son's character, and often it was through a great deal of luck.
"I thought you said you were good at video games!" Button taunted, as he and his mom picked their characters for the fifthteenth straight match since starting up the game.
"I said I played video games more often than you might think, Button," Milano hastily explained, even though she knew she was caught with her pants down (or perhaps caught with her diaper down worked better, given the current circumstances) "I never said I was good at them, you just assumed that."
Button shrugged "Whatever, baby. It's your turn to pick the stage. Who knows, maybe this time you'll get lucky and beat me."
Milano quickly selected a stage from the rather large selection. But just as her character and her son's character appeared at their respective ends of the stage, Milano began to feel an uncomfortable sensation in her stomach, which began to gurgle ominously.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Button asked nervously, as he saw his mom pause the game and stand up, putting a hoof to her stomach as the gurgling noise grew louder "Are you hungry?"
Despite the sensation in her stomach, Milano maintained her composure as she said "I'm fine, Button. Mommy just needs to take a potty break really quick, that's all." And she carefully trotted out the door of her son's bedroom, and headed down the hall to the bathroom. Despite the situation she was in, she refused to run. She'd always told her sons not to run in the hallway, and she did not want to become a "Do as I say, not as I do" parent.
It did not take Milano long to reach the bathroom. And soon as she did so, she opened the door, stepped inside, and then closed the door tightly behind her. Milano breathed a small sigh of relief, the worst was over.
Unfortunately, her relief soon turned out to be premature, as she realized that she no longer felt the uncomfortable gurgling sensation in her stomach. And it was then that she became aware of an all too familiar smell. When she looked down at her diaper, she quickly realized what the source of the smell was. Apparently, she hadn't quite made it to the bathroom in time after all.
Now, one would've expected Milano to be upset about what had just happened, and one would've also been entitled to think that she would have every reason to be upset and unhappy, given the circumstance. However, that was not the case. Despite her condition, Milano wasn't upset, or on the verge of tears. "Accidents happen, just like you told your sons when they were younger," she thought, as she mentally disciplined herself "There's no need to be upset, you have the 'supplies' for a reason."
Opening the door, and carefully poking her head out, Milano called softly "Button, could you come here for a minute?" Then, while she waited for her son to show, she carefully trotted over to a cabinet beneath the sink, and pulled out some air freshener (which she quickly sprayed, before putting it back where she had found it).
"What is it, Mom?" Button asked.
Milano took a deep breath, and calmly said to Button "Can you do Mommy a favor and fetch her saddle bag from your room? It should be right by the door. It has my 'supplies' in case of an 'emergency'."
"What do you mean... Oh," Button said as he realized why his mom was emphasizing those words, and he couldn't help but laugh "Did the baby have an accident in her diaper?"
"Very funny, Button," Milano said with a slight glare, effectively silencing him "Now please go fetch the supplies, and bring them to me. Okay?"
"Whatever you say, baby." Button giggled, but did as he was told. It didn't take him long to find the saddle bag, it was exactly where his mom said it would be.
Button carefully grabbed the saddle bag, and groaned at how heavy it was, as he hauled it down the hall to the bathroom door. "Here are your supplies, Mom," he said, as he set the bag down on the floor with a thud "Hope you don't expect me to change your diaper."
"Of course not, Button," Milano replied "And thank you for your help. Just go back to your room and wait, while I 'freshen up'." And with that, she grabbed the saddle bag, and locked the bathroom door shut once again.
Milano carefully rolled out the forest green colored changing mat, relieved that it was big enough to fit a mare of her size. With a sigh, she carefully positioned herself on the mat, and slowly lay down, but not before making sure to take out some diaper wipes, a canister of foal powder, and a new diaper. "Let's get this over with." Milano said to herself, as she reluctantly grasped the tabs on her diaper, and began to undo them.
Even though it had been a few years since she'd last changed a diaper, Milano was able to wipe herself clean, and powder and diaper herself without a lot of trouble. She then carefully put her old diaper in a plastic bag for disposal later. With the changing process complete, Milano rose from the changing mat, delighting in the crinkle that her new diaper gave off. She proceeded to trot to the bathroom sink, and wash her hooves. As she did so, another memory from when Button was young came back to her:
Milano was in the bathroom, as was Button, who was sitting on his potty chair, his diaper having been removed and tossed aside. Now, whereas most toddler potties featured various cartoon or historical characters, Button's potty (which was a bright red in color) had some of these strange video game animal creatures painted all over it.
Milano currently had her nose in a book, specifically Daring Do And The Quest For The Sapphire Statue, all the while keeping one eye on her toddler son.
"I'm done, Mommy!" Button called, attracting Milano's attention.
Milano put her book down, and trotted over to Button Mash, helping him to stand so that she could look inside his potty. What she saw, caused her face to break out into the biggest smile it could possibly form under the circumstances (Button was quite certain that if got any bigger, it would've leapt right off his mother's face). "You did it, Button!" Milano cheered "You're a big colt now!"
Button felt himself overwhelmed with pride, and then he got an idea. While he was still standing (a task that he found rather difficult), he looked at his mom and shouted "Du nun nun, nun nun nah!" mimicking a tune from his favorite video game.
"Button learned potty!" Milano shouted, joining in on the joke, before she picked up the potty and emptied it into the toilet.
Suddenly, Button Mash's ears heard a familiar (not to mention dreadful) roaring noise. "Help, monster!" he shouted, and hid behind his mother legs for protection.
"It's not a monster, Button," Milano explained sweetly "It's just the big pony potty being flushed, that's all."
"B-but Gibson says it eats ponies!" Button protested, still shaking from fright, as he looked at the white porcelain beast.
"Gibson was only joking, Button," Milano reassured her son "If it really did eat ponies, do you think I would keep such a thing in my house and let it gobble up my sweet little colt?" Button shook his head.
After washing her hooves (as well as disposing of her old diaper, and then washing her hooves again for good measure), Milano put all her changing supplies carefully back in her saddle bag, and exited the bathroom to resume playing with her son.
Eventually, Milano's luck finally turned around, as she managed to actually win a match using a giant ape like creature with a tie. Button's mouth hung open in shock, as the game announced the winner of the battle. "I... don't believe it, I lost," he said slowly "I lost to a big baby and my mom at the same time."
"Now, don't take it personally, Button," Milano said, as the game returned to the character select screen "It was just one victory, and I got pretty lucky. I actually thought I'd lost, and I probably would've if it weren't for that one object."
Despite this, Button remained in a state of shock. He'd lost, to someone who hadn't played anywhere near as many video games as he had. Sure, it was through sheer dumb luck, but that didn't mean the wound still didn't sting. "If my friends find out about this, I'll be the laughing stock of the whole school yard," Button said dramatically, putting his hooves to his forehead as if he were about to scream. But instead he lowered them, and turned to his mother as he said "You've got to promise you won't tell anypony about this. If you do, I'll probably die of embarrassment."
Milano chuckled lightly "Who would believe me if I told them, Button? You're the video game master in this household."
Button was not convinced "Please, you have to promise not to mention it to anypony, no matter what! Even if a few ponies don't think it's true, it'll spread like crazy among the rest!"
"Okay, Button, if it'll make you feel better, this will just stay our little secret," Milano replied "But in return, I want you to listen to me whenever I ask you to do something. And go to bed when I tell you to. That means, no video games, and no ifs, ands, or buts."
"What?! That's not fair!" Button complained, then he saw the cheeky grin on his mother's face.
"I was only joking, Button. You know I'd never do something like that, even if I wanted to." Milano said, as the grin on her face slowly faded.
"Not funny, Mom!" Button pouted, as he and his mom selected their characters for the next fight. His mom (unsurprisingly) decided to stick with the ape character with which she'd won the previous match.
With the exception of a few bathroom breaks (though Milano found it a bit embarrassing to have her son ask if she needed a change with every break), and a break for dinner, Milano and Button spent the rest of the day battling it out on the fighting game. Milano tried her hardest, but she failed to win anymore matches, even though she came close quite often.
At last, Milano decided that enough was enough for one day, and unplugged the console. With a crinkle, she rose to her feet and looked out the window. Luna's moon shone brightly in the night sky, its streaks of radiant light were reflected beautifully in the windows, not unlike that one stage from Button Mash's game.
Milano yawned "I didn't realize how late it was getting," she said to Button "Since it's the weekend, you can stay up for a little bit longer, but I want you in bed by the time your father gets home, understand?"
"Yes, Mom," Button said with a nod "I'm gonna spend a little bit of time reorganizing my party to make room for Fluffy, and start training it." And with that, he went over to his dresser, and retrieved his Joyboy, smiling at how much battery life it still had.
Before she left her son's room, Milano made sure to retrieve her saddle bag, as well as give Button a goodnight kiss.
After a quick bathroom break Milano trotted into her bedroom, and carefully slid her saddle bag under the bed. Then with another yawn, she climbed into bed, and pulled the sheets up to her head. She didn't care that was she sleeping in a diaper. If her husband asked (and chances were he probably wouldn't notice) she'd just tell him what she told Button.
All in all, Milano had to say that this was a day she wasn't likely to forget anytime soon. Then, she closed her eyes, and slept like a baby through the entire night.