A whammy full of problems
Shining Armor and Cadence were waiting outside on the train station in Ponyville with Flurry all tucked away snug in her foal buggy. Shining was looking around grumbling about how the train should have arrived while Cadence was busy playing with her daughter, nuzzling her ear gently.
“Oh, you're just mommy’s little snuggler. Yes you are, yes you are.” said Cadence as she kissed Flurry on the forehead.
Flurry Heart giggled and put her hooves all over her mother’s face. Cadence’s heart melted as she let her play with her mane.
”So, did you like playing with your auntie Twily?” Cadence asked playfully.
Flurry Heart nodded eagerly and started to babble and coo as if she was trying to explain what she did.
Cadence just smiled and ruffled her daughter’s mane. “That's good. I’m glad you two finally got to spend some time together.”
Flurry grinned, but then started grunting as a giant lump grew around her diaper, causing a repulsive stench to permeate the air.
As Shining paced the floor grumbling to himself, he said, “That train should be here by now. What’s taking so long?”
“Uh, Shining? Flurry needs a diaper change.” Cadence tapped on Shining Armor’s shoulders and showed her off to him.
Shining took a small whiff and his face turned a pale shade of green as he gagged. “Oh, sweet Celestia, Flurry!”
He looked around and said through his pinched nose, “I don’t see a bathroom around here.”
Cadence smelt the air and gagged again before groaning, “Yeah, I better go and get her changed. Are you alright waiting for the train by yourself?”
Shining gave his wife and loving nudge before saying, ”Yeah, I’ll be fine. When the train comes, I’ll make sure to keep it here until you two get back.” He trotted up to Flurry and gave her a small hug as he cooed, “Oh don’t you worry. You’ll be back in your room once the choo choo train comes.”
She giggled and squealed while putting her hooves in her mouth and garbled something.
Shining snickered and gagged again. “Don’t take too long, dear.”
Cadence nodded and pushed Flurry’s buggy down the road. “Come on, Flurry. Let’s get your stinky butt changed.”
They’re they go, my two favorite mares in the world. Shining Armor watched as both Cadence and Flurry went off the platform to find a toilet. Then, as if fate had played a cruel joke on the family, the train came chugging down the track towards the station. “Oh no...” Shining Armor grimaced.
Cadence re-entered Ponyville with small trickles of sweat starting to form on her head. Now, there has to be someplace where I can change a diaper.she thought, But where?
The first thing that Cadence saw was a large sign that pointed towards the Ponyville Hospital down an isolated path. “Oh, thank Celestia! I can change a diaper there!”
Flurry Heart felt her entire flank begin to heat up due to the poop pressing against her body. Unable to cope anymore, she started to bawl as loudly as she could.
Cadence started pushed Flurry down the road much faster at the sound of her cries and comforted her as she picked up speed. Don’t worry, Flurry. We're going to get that diaper changed in a second.”
After a rapid dash down the path, Cadence crashed the buggy through the front doors and passed the receptionists desk. She went by so fast that she didn’t even see the nurses that pursued her and Flurry down the corridor.
“This is an emergency!” Cadence shouted, “I need to get my foal’s diaper changed stat!”
Cadence entered a bathroom, placed Flurry on the diaper changing counter, and started to clean her up. The nurses all giggled and let Cadence work as she finished powdering flurry’s rump and strapped a new diaper around her daughter. After connecting the tabs together, she gave Flurry a raspberry making her flail her tiny legs in joy.
“Oh, you like that huh?” She gave Flurry another raspberry and heard her squeal even more. She then got her daughter’s Whammy out (a snail plushie with a green shell) and let flurry snuggle it as she put the diaper changing supplies back into the foal buggy.
As Flurry was levitating her plushie and started to wave it around in the air, it flew off from her magic and fell into a trolley going down the hall. She gasped in horror and jumped up into the air and started to waddle after it. She was determined not to have a repeat of what had happened with her and Twilight.
Cadence was still busy putting her diaper changing supplies away, so when she turned, she only caught a brief glimpse of Flurry leaving the bathroom. She immediately started to follow her daughter out and asked, ”Hey, where are you going?”
She then watched as Flurry Heart started to look around the hospital and her horn glowed and levitated objects and ponies about. She whimpered and whined the whole time scouring the place for her toy. Cadence paused and opened her jaw wide, having never seen Flurry like this before.
As the other nurses were looking on at Flurry with raised eyebrows and tilted heads, Cadence turned and blushed as she waved a hoof with a sheepish smile. ”Oh, she’s just a curious little foal sometimes, that’s all. I’m sure she’ll snap out of it soon.”
Nurse Redheart came up and to the princess with a nervous disposition and bowed before her. ”Um, Princess Cadence, I don’t mean to be rude, but... this is a hospital we just can't have Flurry Heart making a mess again.”
Cadence eyed the nurse and asked, ”Again? She was here before?”
Nurse Redheart rolled her eyes as she explained, “Yeah, Twilight brought her over when she came to read with the school-foals who got the Horsey Hives.”
Cadence turned to Flurry Heart, who was still turning the place upside down to find her plush, spilling pills, fluids, and other important apparatus all over the floor. “Wait! Where’s her Whammy?!”
Nurse Redheart blinked a few times before asking, “A Whammy? What’s a Whammy?”
Cadence shouted, “Her snail doll Whammy! I gave it to her a few minutes ago and she must have lost it while I was putting her diaper supplies away! She’ll never calm down without it!”
Nurse Redheart saw Flurry turn over a few more trollies and looked back at Cadence. ”Well, uh, if it’s that serious, then I’ll help you find your Whammy.”
“Thank you! I promise this won’t take that long!” Cadence unfurled her wings and scooped Flurry up onto her back. “Alright, Flurry. Let’s go find your whammy.”
As Nurse Redheart followed them down the corridor, she watched Cadence use her magic to try and calm Flurry down herself. This better not take long. Last time she lost her Whammy, we nearly had to evacuate the hospital!
Shining was still at the train station, muttering as steam poured from the front of the train onto the platform. “Ugh! Where could she be? How long can changing a diaper take?!”
“All aboard! Last call! The train is about to leave the station!” shouted the conductor.
Shining groaned, ”Oh no...” He slowly came up to the conductor, tapped his shoulder and asked, ”Uh, I know this may be inconvenient, but can you wait a few more minutes?”
”No can do, sir. I have a schedule to keep.” The conductor shook his head stoutly. “If you can’t board now, then you’ll have to make the next train.”
“Which is going to be how much time from now?” He twisted his right hoof in a circular motion.
The conductor took a brief glance at his pocket watch and said, “In about five hours.”
FIVE HOURS?! Shining Armor screamed internally, We can’t wait that long! He threw himself onto his knees and planted his hooves together. ”Please! My wife went to get Flurry’s diaper changed. I’m sure they’ll be back soon. It'll only be for a few minutes.”
The conductor looked back at the train, turned his gaze to Shining Armor, then said, “Ten minutes. That’s all you’re getting. If you don’t board within that time, we’ll leave without you and your wife and child.”
Shining sighed in relief as he stood back up and said, “Thank you so much. I promise they’ll be along shortly.”
The conductor pointed down the station towards a small outhouse and said, ”Uh, you know that a bathroom was right over there.”
Shining’s eye just twitched as his mane started to stand on end. He threw his arms high in the air and made an actual horse’s cry before smashing his head into the floor.
A young filly with red eyes, a yellow coat and a dark purple mane was hugging her dolphin plushie, snuggling it as a nurse came in and approached her bed.
”It’s time for your medicine.” Said the nurse as she poured medicine into a spoon and laid the bottle down on the table. She watched the filly blush and open her mouth, allowing her to spoonfeed her. “How are you doing today, Butter Biscuit?”
She whimpered, “Fine. These Horsey Hives are so itchy though.” She was about to scratch them but the nurse took her hooves away in time.
“Don’t scratch them, dear,” she said, “We need to let them heal.”
The filly groaned and turned herself away from the nurse, throwing her covers away. “This is stupid. I hate Horsey Hives.”
The nurse bent her head down and saw the snail plushie on her trolley. ”Oh. I think I have something to cheer you up.”
Butter Biscuit saw the plushie and raised her hooves towards it. “That's so cute. Can I really have it?”
The nurse nodded and snuck it underneath her hooves. “There, there. Now get some sleep.”
The filly nodded and snuggled under her covers as the nurse tucked her in and continued to give medicine to the rest of the sick foals in the ward.
Cadence and Flurry were now busy looking all over for Flurry’s Whammy. They levitated carts, looked under desks, popped into rooms, and scoured the halls together. All the while, Nurse Redheart followed them with a unamused look on her face.
I see where flurry gets her searching skills from. She was apologizing to the patients and the nurses who were being dropped on the ground muttering and complaining. Eventually, her face turned red and steam poured out of her ears before she threw her head up into the air and roared, “That’s it! I can’t take this anymore!”
Cadence jumped at the noise and looked back at a fuming Nurse Redheart. “I’m so sorry about this. She’s always so careful with that thing.”
Nurse Redheart breathed in and out very heavily before she looked down and wiped her face with her hoof. “Alright, look. I’ll make an announcement on the P.A and have all the staff look for your Whammy.” She stepped behind the receptionist's desk and went straight to microphone She held a button and almost placed her lips on the device. “Attention all staff! We have a foal in distress here at Ponyville General!” She let go of the buttons and whispered, ”What does it look like again?”
Cadence thought for a minutes as Flurry crawled up onto her mother’s head. She took some paper on the desk and a few coloured pens and started drawing what looked like a green snail before showing a crude depiction of the toy to Redheart.
“Is this what we’re looking for?” Redheart examined the doodle.
Cadence took one look at the picture and nodded to both Flurry and Nurse Redheart.
Nurse Redheart eyed it, then went back to the intercom. “We are on the lookout for a green snail plushie. If you see anything like this, please report it to the front desk immediately.” She turned to Cadence and said, “Alright. We should find your Whammy in no time.”
Cadence smiled at Redheart and shook her hoof. “Thank you...”
She then turned to the benches and said, “So I guess we should just wait here?”
Nurse Redheart nodded. “Yes. Please take a seat. I’m sure we’ll find your Whammy.”
Flurry Heart giggled and clapped her tiny hooves together as Cadence settled down on a bench and snuggled her.
“Yes, that’s right, dear. They're going to find your Whammy soon. Don’t you worry.” Cadence petted Flurry’s mane.
one hour later…
The conductor was now glaring at Shining, who was running back and forth with his hair a complete wreck.
”Alright. It’s been a hour.” The conductor shook Shining Armor like a doll and turned his head to look in his eyes. “I'm coming back here anyway, you know. Let me just drop off the rest of the passengers and we’ll come back to get—”
“How much?” Shining Armor ripped out a bag of bits and put it up to the conductor’s muzzle.
The conductor rolled his eyes and mumbled, “I’ll wait another hour for a hundred.”
Shining put the bag into the conductor's hoof who tucked it away and walked over towards the station’s PA system and announced, ”Attention passengers! Due to some mechanical issues, the train will be delayed for a another hour!”
All the passengers groaned from the train’s carriages and threw their legs all around themselves in frustration.
”Come on, Cadence! How long can a diaper change take?!” Shining Armor’s pupils dilated as he looked out towards the street.
Cadence and Flurry Heart were both playing pattycake with each other, clapping and patting their hooves in rhythm as they both sang a small song.
Flurry giggled and was still waving her hooves as Cadence covered her in kisses.
“Oh, I hope we find your Whammy soon, Flurry.” Cadence took a brief glance up at the clock. “I’ve been making Shining wait for so long that we might have missed a lot of trains back to the Crystal Empire.”
Eventually, Cadence saw a nurse approach the desk with more medical equipment on it. She watched her look at the snail drawing and smile.
“Oh this looks like that plushie I gave Butter Biscuit,” said the nurse.
Flurry Heart shouted and pointed towards the nurse as Cadence approached her. “Oh thank Celestia somepony knows where it is.” She took a sigh of relief and levitated Flurry onto her back as she tapped the nurse’s shoulders. “Excuse me, miss? I need to know where Whammy is. You said you saw it?”
“Oh, are you the mare who sent out that little distress call?” The nurse asked.
“Yes.” Cadence nodded. “Do you know where it is?”
“I gave it to a sick filly with the Horsey Hives.” She began to walk down the corridors that she had come from. “I’ll show you the way, if you’d like.”
As the two came down the hall they arrived where the sick fillies and colts with Horsey Hives were. The nurse slowly opened the door and whispered, “Right now, most of the foals are sleeping, so please try to keep quiet.”
Cadence nodded, peeked in, and looked around the room until she spotted the yellow coated filly with a dark velvet mane holding Whammy in her hooves, sleeping soundly.
Oh no what do I do? Cadence frowned and put her hoof to her chin as she watched the child sleep.
Flurry popped through her mother’s mane and gasped, seeing Whammy with another filly. Her tiny face turned into a shade of crimson as she bit her lips. She flew over to the sleeping filly and was going to take back her plushie. But seconds as she was about to make her move, she stopped as the tiny filly coughed and hugged the snail plushie closer with some tears on her face as she whimpered, most likely due to how uncomfortable she felt with her disease. Flurry gazed at the sick foal, unsure of what to do and looked back to her mom who shrugged. Flurry Heart looked back at the sick filly and kissed her on the forehead and kissed Whammy too, she then flew back to her mom as Cadence gave her a sweet smile.
”Oh, that was sweet, Flurry.” Cadence tousled Flurry’s mane. “Mommy promises we’ll buy you a new Whammy, okay?”
Flurry nodded as the two skipped off while Nurse Redheart watched with a dumbfounded look and could only slam a hoof to her face.
The conductor was tapping his hoof and muttering angrily as Shining had his eyes glued at the big clock overhead while also biting one of his forehooves.
Come on, Cadence... If we miss this train, we’ll be here all night! Shining Armor was shuffling around on the spot, as if he was stepping on hot coal.
As the minute hand came over the hour hand over the five, the conductor shouted, “That’s it! Time to go!”
“We're back Shining!”
Shining turned his head to see Cadence galloping towards him with Flurry on her back as he sighed in relief. ”Oh, thank Celestia!” He then turned to the conductor and said, “Sorry for holding your train up so badly. We’ll just board and get going now...”
The conductor rolled his eyes as he got back inside the front of the train and blew the whistle. He gave a small pat on his pocket and heard all the bits that Shining Armor had bribed him with rustle and shake around.
Cadence hugged her husband close, nuzzling his mane as her neck brushed against his. “Oh, I'm so sorry, Shining. We got caught up looking for Flurry’s Whammy.”
Shining twitched for a few moments before letting out another horse scream as he grumbled and slammed his hooves against each other. “It’s fine, dear. Let’s just get on the train.”
Flurry Heart, thinking she was in trouble, looked down in shame and started to tear up.
Shining saw the tears begin to form in her eyes and gave her a gentle peck on the head. ”It's alright, Flurry. Now come on. Let’s get on the choo-choo train.”
As they went on the train and sat together, Cadence hoofed Flurry to Shining who held her to his chest and let her snuggle into his coat. Shining’s full attention was on his daughter cooing and babbling as the strain started to move away from the station.
After a few minutes of playing with his daughter, he looked around and asked, ”So, did you find Whammy? It doesn’t look like she has it. Unless... she’s hiding it in her diaper?”
Flurry Heart wrapped herself in her wings as Cadence explained, “A sick filly had it and Flurry was kind enough to let her keep it.”
Shining gave Flurry a gentle pat on the shoulders and lifted her head up. “I’m proud of you, Flurry. You're the cutest and most generous foal in Equestria.”
Flurry just blushed and put her hooves on Shining’s nose as she kissed him back.
Cadence just watched the adorable scene and whispered, ”Yeah, and I’m sorry you had to wait for us for nothing.”
Shining waved a hoof. “It was nothing.” He took one more quick inspection of the carriage and asked, ”Wait. Where's the foal buggy?”
Cadence pondered for a second then widened her eyes as she remembered where she had put it. “I left it in the hospital's bathroom.”