(Story idea requested by superfun. Contains age regression, diapers, and diaper useage! Reader discretion is advised.) When Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon lose a bet to the CMC, they are turned into foals for a week. The CMC must care for them.
(Warning!: This fic has been rated Teen as a precaution as it will contain diapers and diaper useage. Please read with discretion or click elsewhere if such material is outside your comfort zone. Thank you. Story idea requested by superfun. Takes place prior to any events in Season 9.)
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon decide to make a friendly wager with the Cutie Mark Crusaders one day, a race to Sugarcube Corner where the losers must do whatever the winners ask of them. The Crusaders accept.
When Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon lose the race they reluctantly agree to the terms of the bet and place themselves at the CMC's mercy. As it turns out the CMC's idea is to have their friends test out a regression potion that will turn whoever drinks it into foals for a week.
Despite some reluctance the two rich fillies agree, Diamond largely for the sake of having a better foalhood and Silver so she can be with Diamond to offer support. But are the CMC up to the challenge of raising two foals? And will Diamond and Silver's foalish tendencies take over?
If there was one downside to summer vacation it's that no school to attend meant that many school aged ponies had a considerable portion of their days that were now freed up. For some that was a problem because it would mean nothing to do. But for others, like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it was time they could spend tending to their booming business of helping other ponies (and even some non-ponies on occasion) with cutie mark problems.
That wasn't to say they didn't still take time for themselves though, because they did. In fact a day like this was actually part of a dry spell for their business. Not very many ponies were coming to them. The Crusaders didn't mind, that left them plenty of time to hang out with some of their friends. And today that involved Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the two fillies they had once resented but now considered among their closest friends.
Diamond Tiara had a smile upon her face as she and Silver Spoon met the Crusaders a ways away from the Rich family mansion. Her mother might not approve of it, but hanging out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders was something that made even the dullest of days more fun. It beat etiquette and piano lessons with her mom, or boring business meetings in stuffy offices with her dad. And having Silver Spoon accompany her made it even better. "Hey, Crusaders!" She cheerfully waved a hoof. "Always nice to see you three. How are things with your club, I mean business?"
"I bet you're up to your necks in ponies with cutie mark problems," Silver Spoon smiled. "You're totally welcome by the way, because I may have let it slip about what it is you three do."
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Business has been slow lately. I guess we got a little too good at what it is we do."
Sweetie Belle just smiled in a chipper tone of voice. "But that means more time to just hang out with you girls."
Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings in excitement. "Enough chit chat! Whaddya say we head to Sugarcube Corner for milkshakes?! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"
"We do that every day we hang out, Scootaloo," Diamond unhappily sighed. "And your tab is almost overdue."
Scootaloo sheepishly massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "I promise I'll pay you back as soon as get my next allowance."
The headgear wearing filly didn't press further. "Well, if we're going to do something like that again, why don't we make it interesting? How about a race?"
"I was thinking the same thing, Di. Mother says exercise is good for you." Silver Spoon declared as she adjusted her glasses.
Apple Bloom nodded her head. "A race sounds good. I guess the losers buy the winner milkshakes?"
But a glint seemed to come into Tiara's eyes as she suggested. "Well actually, how about we make things a little more interesting? How about a bet?"
Silver Spoon jumped up and down in a manner that could've been easily mistaken for Pinkie Pie's bouncing. "Ooh, what a great idea, Di! And I've got the perfect bet in mind! The losers have to do the winners' bidding, whatever it is," She eyed the Crusaders. "I'm thinking that if Diamond and I win, you three have to do all our chores for a week. Don't worry, Mother's pretty generous about my chores."
Diamond Tiara then commented. "Wish I could say the same for my mother. But if I didn't do it she'd probably just make the hired help do it. And Celestia knows they're overworked and underpaid as it is, especially Randolph. That old butler deserves pay several grades above what he gets."
"I suppose that's fair. There are three of us and two of you," Sweetie commented as she looked at her fellow Crusaders. "Besides, I sometimes do chores when I'm staying with Rarity."
Apple Bloom shrugged her hooves. "I do a lot of chores as it is around the farm. But as long as Spoiled Rich ain't yellin' at me I could probably put up with it."
Scootaloo made a gag face. "As long as I don't have to do things like clean the bathroom or wash the dishes I guess I'm onboard too. But what about if we win? You know, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and I?"
Diamond put a hoof to her chin, deep in thought. "A good question actually, Scootaloo."
But Apple Bloom commented with a smile. "I know! I've got a potion I want to test out. If we win, you two can be my taste testers. Don't worry, I promise it ain't poison. And I'll have you know I ain't blown anythin' up for weeks."
Silver Spoon gulped. "I don't know about that. Are you sure we couldn't just do your chores instead?"
But Tiara shook her head. "I've seen Apple Bloom's potion skills first hoof during science class. You don't think her good grades were a coincidence, did you, Silver Spoon?"
Silver reluctantly commented. "I.... guess not," She quickly shook her head to regain her confidence. "But it doesn't matter, we're not gonna lose!"
Scootaloo eagerly declared. "Feeling's mutual! May the best fillies win!" And then all five fillies took off as fast as their hooves would let them!
The race to Sugarcube Corner didn't last very long, it wasn't too far from the Rich family mansion and all five fillies knew their way around town by now.
The first one to make it there was actually Scootaloo! Scooter or not she was pretty fast, and had been building up her endurance from all the times she'd tried to fly.
Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara reached the front step at roughly the same time, both were used to running all around for whatever reason (Apple Bloom because of the harvest, and Diamond Tiara because she was trying to get away from her mother before she could be dragged into something she wanted no part of).
So it all boiled down to Sweetie Belle against Silver Spoon! The two fillies had lagged far behind the others and were almost out of breath as their destination came into view. They were sweaty and panting heavily, appearing to be evenly matched. Their friends watched with anticipation and anxiety, whoever made it to Sugarcube Corner first would determine the winners and losers of the race (and the bet).
Sweetie Belle surged ahead briefly, then Silver Spoon, then Sweetie Belle again, then Silver Spoon again. The miles were getting shorter by the second and yet they seemed nose to nose. It could be a photo finish, maybe even a tie!
But at the last possible second, Sweetie managed to stick out her head and push forward ever so slightly. By what could only be described as a split second, her front hooves made contact with the first step just before Silver Spoon's could! Sweetie had won the race and the bet for the Cutie Mark Crusaders!
Silver hung her head in shame. "Sorry, Di," She sincerely apologized in between pants. "Tried to make it... couldn't keep up.... my bad..." She paused to catch her breath and push her glasses back into place.
Diamond didn't scowl or glare. She couldn't be mad at her friend. "It's okay, Silvy," She declared as she trotted over and gave her fellow rich filly a pat on the back. "I know you did your best. Sweetie Belle was just a little bit better," And then she added. "But a bet is a bet, and unfortunately as Mother would say 'Rich ponies always keep their word'. We have to agree to be Apple Bloom's potion testers."
Apple Bloom nodded. "Eeyup," She chortled at how well she mimicked her brother's way of speaking (or rather not speaking). "But you can worry about that another day. Let's get our milkshakes now, and you two can stop by the clubhouse tomorrow as soon as you can. The Crusaders and I will be waitin'."
The next day came sooner than either Diamond or Silver would've liked. It was true they had given their word when they lost the bet, but that didn't mean they were exactly thrilled with it. Silver Spoon especially couldn't help but feel nervous as she and Diamond Tiara made their way up the steps to knock on the clubhouse door. There was no telling what Apple Bloom's potion she wanted them to taste test was meant to do. And the possibilities that came to the filly's mind made her uneasy: Images of her coat turning a variety of ill fitting and mis-matched colors, her voice changing to sound really high or low pitched, or even her appearance changing into some horrid monstrosity all flashed in her mind and made her shudder.
Diamond Tiara put a hoof around her friend to comfort her. "It's okay, Silver Spoon. Whatever it is, we'll get through it together. I'm sure Apple Bloom wouldn't have us taste test anything too dangerous." Then she brought a hoof to the door and knocked three times.
The door swung open and Apple Bloom pulled both fillies inside! "Great, you're here! Got everythin' all set up for ya," She gestured a hoof to a nearby table where two paper cups of a strange, green liquid stood. "Already poured the potion I want you to drink. I promise it'll only taste funny for a second or two."
"Okay, let's just get this over with." Silver Spoon sighed and trotted forward.
Diamond threw up a hoof to block her friend. "Wait, Silver! Mother and Father always taught me to know all the details about something before you do it!" She eyed Apple Bloom. "What's that potion of yours going to do to us? Is it going to make us talk funny or look funny?"
Silver gulped. "Is it gonna change us into something horrible?!"
The farm filly shook her head. "No, it ain't gonna do anythin' like that. It's harmless, really. I promise."
Diamond wasn't convinced, she arched an eyebrow upward to convey her skepticism. Apple Bloom was being incredibly vague.
"Well, I guess you have a right to know what you're gettin' into. That way if you wanna back out you can. I won't blame ya if you do," Apple Bloom cautioned and cleared her throat. "This here potion's a regression potion. It's supposed to make ya younger."
"How young are we talking? A few years?" Silver nervously questioned.
Sweetie Belle explained. "More or less. It's supposed to turn you into foals. Apparently, it's so that Apple Bloom can make trees that stay young and healthy, so they produce fruit for longer."
"But when I tried it on trees nothin' worked. It doesn't even last a week, the trees stay as they are," Apple Bloom unhappily sighed. "I wanna know if maybe it only affects ponies or somethin'. I thought you two might enjoy bein' foals again, or at least maybe you, Diamond Tiara."
Scootaloo was quick to point out. "You told us how your mom didn't really care for you as a foal, just kept unloading you onto anypony and everypony else. And your dad wasn't much better 'cause he was too busy with his work to really spend time with you. So we thought you make like a foalhood where you have ponies who aren't simply paid to care for you. And if Silver Spoon did it too, you'd have a playmate."
"It should only last a week, if it actually works at all," Sweetie added. "But if you two don't want to taste test it, you don't have to. We'll forget about the bet and we can do something else."
However, Diamond Tiara would hear nothing of such a suggestion. "I gave my word, Crusaders! I agreed to do whatever it was you wanted if I lost the race. And I'm not gonna go back on my word!" She also couldn't help but smile. "Besides, being a foal again could be fun. I didn't get to enjoy it as much thanks to Mother forcing me to outgrow everything foalish as soon as she didn't want to have to deal with it anymore. And I'm being honest, Silver Spoon was the best thing about those years."
Silver Spoon grinned. "Yeah! We've been B.F.F.s since we were in diapers! And if Di's gonna go through with it, I am too. Might be interesting to relive my foal years for a while, at least this time I won't have to worry about Mother and Father yelling at me not to break things," But then a thought struck her. "Are you three actually prepared for us to be foals if the potion works, though?"
Apple Bloom nodded. "Got some foal supplies just in case. Borrowed 'em from the Cakes, Pinkie says they don't need 'em now that the twins are older."
"Besides, how hard can a couple of foals be? Especially since you'll be able to tell us if you need anything," Scootaloo encouraged. "If Pinkie Pie can foalsit twins, we can totally handle a couple of regressed fillies if we have to!"
So Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon reluctantly trotted forward and drank of the potion, knowing full well what it could do to them. The potion had a slightly fruity taste to it for some reason as they drank down every last drop in their cups.
The two fillies stood in the clubhouse after they had finished. The Crusaders watched and waited, wondering if anything would happen.
A few moments passed and there seemed to be no reaction. It looked like the potion had been a dud. But then suddenly, Diamond and Silver let out burps at the same time. Green bubbles escaped from their lips and their bodies started to tingle.
"What happening?" Diamond wondered as she felt something strange take hold of her. All of a sudden she and Silver began to shrink in stature! They eventually became no taller than the Cake Twins were now, in fact they were a little bit shorter than the twins.
"We foals again?!" Silver blinked as she looked up at the CMC who now seemed to tower over her.
Apple Bloom nodded very slowly. "I think so. It looks like this time the potion worked like it was supposed to."
"Which means we'd better get you two diapered right away! Can't have you making messes on the clubhouse floor!" Scootaloo frantically declared as she rushed over to a corner of the clubhouse and returned shortly with two diapers.
Sweetie Belle used her magic to pick up the regressed fillies and gently slip the diapers under their rumps, then taping them up nice and secure before she set the two back down.
"Now wha?" Tiara questioned in a high pitched, squeaky voice. "Ya not gonna be abwe ta cawe fow us in ya cwubhouse."
"Good question, actually," Scootaloo commented as she looked at the other Crusaders. "We can't just care for them in the clubhouse, we need someplace where they can be safe and where we can set up a nursery."
Sweetie spoke up as she remembered something. "Didn't Rarity say something about Twilight having a spare nursery set up for Flurry Heart whenever she stays in Ponyville? Maybe she'll let us use it for the week?"
Apple Bloom nodded. "It's worth a shot. Plus, she'll be able to help us out if these two don't go back to normal in a week."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were ready to take their regressed friends to Twilight. But there was one problem that they faced before they could do so. Getting the foals safely to Twilight's castle without anypony recognizing or spotting them. It would be quite a trek from the clubhouse to the castle, and since Sweetie Belle was still a relative newcomer to magic teleportation was out of the question.
Fortunately, Scootaloo had an idea. She bent down to the foals' level and scooped them up with great care, placing them onto her back beneath her wings as she unfolded them briefly. "You'll be safe under there, and nice and warm too I'll bet." She assured them.
Apple Bloom wasn't so convinced. "I don't know, Scootaloo. Your wings ain't that big. We're gonna need somethin' a little bit more than that to do the trick. Like a dress or somethin'."
Scootaloo made a gag face at that suggestion. "No thank you! Besides, it's not like we can just pop down to Carousel Boutique and ask Rarity to make something to cover up foals," The pegasus glanced around the room and quickly took notice of a discarded black outfit with green stripes. "I know, I'll just use my old Washouts jacket. Nopony will think twice, the Washouts still have their fans after all." She sloppily put said jacket on.
"Well, I guess that could work," Sweetie Belle reluctantly commented. "But you do realize we're going to have to walk to Twilight's castle, right? We don't have any extra helmets, especially not foal sized ones."
"And you gotta be sure to be extra careful with Diamond and Silver," Apple Bloom warned. "Granny always says that foals have to be treated gently 'cause of their tiny bodies. If they fall off ya they could bruise easier than rotten apples."
"Pwus me get motion sick if you go too fast!" Silver Spoon warned as she and Diamond huddled underneath the protective cover of Scootaloo's wings.
The tomboyish pegasus sighed and groaned. "Okay, okay, I'll be careful. It's not like I don't know anything about foals. I've seen Pinkie play with the Cake Twins before and seen lots of baby ponies. Can we just get going already? We'd probably already be at Twilight's castle by now if we weren't talking."
Apple Bloom carefully opened the clubhouse door, making sure that the path through the orchard was clear. It was, there wasn't a pony in sight anywhere. And with that the three fillies and their regressed charges quickly (but carefully in Scootaloo's case) made their way down the clubhouse steps with their destination clear in mind.
Since the School of Friendship had let out for the summer and lesson plans had long been finalized (Twilight always prided herself on being one step ahead), Twilight had expected to spend the day in her castle just doing what she usually did: Organizing and reshelving her entire library. As there were no friendship problems to tend to, no final exams to grade, and no big emergencies that needed to be addressed, the young alicorn was looking forward to a quiet and relaxing day.
Those plans were suddenly dashed when who should come bursting in through the castle doors but the Cutie Mark Crusaders? "Twilight!" They all called at once in between pants and pauses to catch their breath.
Twilight was briefly startled by the fillies' sudden entrance, but a deep breath later and she was back to her usual calm self. "Hello, girls," She greeted the Crusaders. "I assume you need my help with something?" As her eyes looked over the three she quickly took notice of the outfit Scootaloo was wearing. "And why are you in your old Washouts jacket, Scootaloo? I haven't seen you wear that since the Washouts left Ponyville."
"It's kind of hard to explain, just promise us you won't be mad with us," Scootaloo pleaded, before she took in a deep breath and said all at once. "We made a bet with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon where the losers had to do whatever the winners wanted, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon lost, and we had them taste test a potion that Apple Bloom was working on, and it turned them into foals, and we need someplace to set up a nursery for them, and we figured you were the best option for helping us keeping their regression a secret, so can you help us, pretty please?"
Twilight blinked a bit even though she had no trouble deciphering what Scootaloo had said, years of hanging around Pinkie Pie had trained her well in the art of understanding rapid fire sentences. That also meant that things which may have seemed impossible or hard to believe for her once upon a time didn't phase her, usually they would turn out to be true.
And that was the case as Scootaloo shed her Washouts jacket, and out tumbled two foals with coats that left no doubts as to who they could possibly be.
Diamond Tiara, despite her shrunken stature, immediately bowed before the commanding presence of Twilight even though she knew it was unnecessary. "H-hi, Pwincess Twiwight. Is me, Diamond Tiawa." She greeted, her voice substantially higher pitched.
Silver Spoon didn't say a word, especially since she was just getting used to not needing glasses to be able to see clearly (her bad eye sight hadn't come for a few years after she was born). But even she seemed to be awe of the princess who now clearly towered over her.
Twilight immediately bent down to lower herself to the foals' level as she asked them. "So, is Scootaloo telling the truth? Did this all get started over a bet?"
Diamond sheepishly nodded. "Uh-huh, Siwvy and me gave ouw wowd. Mama say wich ponies not go back on theiw wowd, so me dun and Siwvy dun eithew."
"It's only supposed to last a week," Apple Bloom confessed. "I told them what it would do and gave 'em the option to back out. They didn't take it. But I don't think they necessarily expected it to work. I kind of didn't either, but I couldn't think of any other way to test it to figure out where I was goin' wrong."
Twilight arched an eyebrow upward. "Now, Apple Bloom, I'm not sure if Zecora told you this but you should know by now that regressing ponies and whipping up regression potions on a whim is not a good idea. It takes very powerful magic to change a pony's natural age, especially when you're also not changing their mental state."
Apple Bloom gulped. "Am I in trouble, Twilight?"
The alicorn sighed and shook her head. "Not really, if what Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon say is true, they agreed to this. But I really would appreciate it if you wouldn't use ponies to test out your potions, you could've produced results radically different from what you intended. You could make ponies sick, or worse," She sternly warned. "From now on, I don't want you whipping up any potions without first checking with me or Zecora to make sure they're safe. And if you're not sure, please don't try to test them on anypony or anything."
Apple Bloom nodded and tried not to look too unhappy. She had expected something like this to happen when she told Twilight the truth.
Sweetie Belle opted to change the subject. "So, Twilight, the potion's only supposed to last a week. We were hoping you could help us determine whether that's the case or not."
"And if it is, we were wondering if we could borrow that spare nursery you set up for Flurry Heart," Scootaloo offered. "We kind of promised to take care of Diamond and Silver until they turned back to normal. And we couldn't really care for them in the clubhouse, but we also didn't want to take them somewhere where ponies might spot them."
Twilight carefully picked up the foals with her hooves, placing them on her back as they bounced up and down on it. Then she used her magic to pull the little ones close. "Well, I can definitely check to see if that week long time limit is correct. And I suppose you can borrow the nursery. It should have everything you need. In fact," She gave a whistle. "Spike?"
The not so little dragon came rushing upon the scene with a flap of his wings a moment later. "Yes, Twilight?" Then he saw the foals in her magic. "Whoa! When did Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon turn into foals? Did you mess up a spell or something?"
Twilight shook her head. "This is the CMC's doing, and they're going to be caring for their regressed friends for the week. But I need to check and make sure that it is only a week," She explained to Spike. "So I want you to take the CMC to the nursery we arranged for Flurry Heart during her last visit. Make sure everything is fully stocked, and I do mean everything. If not, let me know so that I can go shopping for whatever we need."
"Can do," Spike gave a salute, before he then thought of something. "But what are you going to do if Diamond and Silver's parents come looking for them? Aren't they gonna think it's weird when their daughters don't come home this evening?"
At that Tiara let out a whimper and started to shudder. "No teww Mama, she not nice! She not gonna cawe fow me, she just weave me with hiwed hooves!" She desperately pleaded. "She why me not get to enjoy fiwst foawhood, and why me go thwough with potion testing."
Silver Spoon reassured her troubled friend. "Is okay, Titi. You not gonna go back to ya mama. You not be awone. Me stay with you."
"Even if ya own mama and dada come fow ya?" The rich foal asked, knowing how Silver Spoon had no real problems with her parents outside of the occasional disagreement.
"Dada wive in Cantewwot, wemembew?" Silver pointed out. "Mama wive in Ponyviwwe and waise me. Dada onwy come home on speciaw occasions. Tey know me wike being with you, we gaw paws fow wife!"
Diamond wiped a lone tear from her eye as she wanted nothing more than to hug her fellow regressed filly at that very moment. "Ya ta best, Siwvy."
Having witnessed such a display, Twilight reluctantly sighed again. "Well, I guess I'll just have to tell them what Diamond and Silver just told me," To the Cutie Mark Crusaders she added. "But I'm also going to make sure they know who it was that turned their daughters into foals. However they react to it, there's little I can do to help you with that. And if they ask if I've seen their daughters, I'm not going to lie to them for your sakes."
"It's okay, Twilight. If it comes to that, we'll fess up to everything and accept whatever punishment they have intended," Sweetie Belle agreed. "I'm pretty sure our families would agree to that, even Scootaloo's aunts."
Twilight nodded her head. "Very well then. Now off you go, Spike will show you to the nursery. And if you have any questions, be sure to ask him. I'll meet up with you after I've determined if the regression is only temporary."
And with that, Spike led the CMC away, leaving Twilight with the foals.
Spike ushered the Crusaders down several winding halls of the castle, until finally he stopped at a seemingly ordinary door that looked no different from any of the other countless doors in the castle.
But upon opening it the three fillies saw that it was not like most other rooms in the castle, this one was clearly different! It was a foal and caretaker's paradise! A fully stocked changing table with several drawers loaded to the brim with every type of changing supply, numerous packages of diapers (enough to build a fort with them you might say), and a smooth, padded surface with guard rails on either side to keep little ones from rolling off it. A crib big enough to fit an alicorn sized foal (Flurry was a bit bigger than your typical foal), complete with a mobile, pillows freshly fluffed, and blankets of all sorts. And a playpen with several toys of differing varieties scattered across the ground in front of it.
To say the three fillies were speechless would be an understatement, they could hardly believe their eyes!
The not so little dragon just chuckled. "That was the same reaction Shining Armor and Cadence had the first time they lay eyes on this nursery. Twilight figured her favorite niece deserved only the best. But it's seen some use for other little ones, Pinkie once brought the twins over for a playdate, and Twilight let them borrow the nursery when they stayed the night."
Apple Bloom was the first one to find her voice. "Lands sake, this place has got everythin' a little one could need! We'll have no trouble carin' for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon now!"
Sweetie Belle spoke next, trotting inside as she examined every inch of the nursery from top to bottom. "This is even better than we could've hoped for! This is a nursery fit for a princess, or in this case two princesses!"
Scootaloo just waved a hoof. "Seems a little extreme to me, but I guess it's better than having nothing," And she then declared. "Pinkie Pie makes caring for foals look so easy. If a pony like her can do it, then we can totally do it too! Am I right, Crusaders?!"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were a little bit hesitant to share in Scootaloo's enthusiasm. Sweetie even commented. "I'm pretty sure even Pinkie Pie had difficulties the first time she took care of the twins. Foals are a big responsibility, after all."
Scootaloo was quick to reply. "I know that, but there's three of us and Diamond and Silver still have their normal minds. Plus, we'll have Twilight for back-up if things get really out of hoof. We can totally pull off a week's worth of foalsitting! And Twilight can cover for us if our families start asking where we are."
"Well that's good to hear, because you three are going to have to stay in the castle all week long," Twilight declared as she came trotting into the nursery with Diamond and Silver in tow. "The regression will indeed wear off after the week has expired, but just because their minds haven't changed doesn't mean it will be easy."
"What do you mea-" Apple Bloom began, before a very familiar odor reached her nostrils. Growing up on a farm she was well used to it and could tell what it was, but that didn't mean it was any bit more tolerable because of those factors. "Ugh!" She plugged her nose. "I should've known it would come to this eventually!"
Sweetie Belle tried to keep her face from turning several shades of green! "Now I know what Rarity must've gone through when I was a foal! This is so bad!"
Scootaloo gagged and started flapping her wings, trying to fan the smell away from her nose. "Ugh, tell me about it!"
Diamond and Silver just looked ashamed and sincerely apologized. "We sowwy."
Apple Bloom just sighed, picking up Diamond Tiara. "Well, it ain't your fault. You're foals now, foals do this all the time. It's kind of to be expected."
Sweetie Belle used her magic to pick up Silver Spoon, holding the foal a good ways away from her. "It sure is a good thing we thought to diaper you two before we came here, otherwise you would've made a mess on the floor."
Scootaloo trotted over to join her friends, still trying to keep the smell from reaching her nostrils (alas, her tiny wings could only do so much).
Soon both regressed fillies lay upon the changing table. They really didn't know what to say but mentally they hoped their friends would be up to the difficult task of changing their diapers. Neither of them were sure how much help they could give, what foalsitting experience they did have had usually amounted to just playing with the Cake Twins or occasionally watching younger relatives that came by for a visit.
"Best if we do this in phases, each pony does a different part of the job," Apple Bloom instructed to the others. "I'll take the lead. I've picked up a few things from all the younger cousins who've visited the farm. Scootaloo, you get ready to put the old diapers in the trash. And Sweetie Belle, you'll get the new diapers ready. Then you and Scootaloo can work on cleanin' up Silver Spoon while I handle Diamond Tiara."
"Whatever, just make it quick!" Scootaloo declared as she started gagging anew! "Are foals always this smelly?!" At least her scrunched up face seemed to be entertaining to her regressed charges.
Apple Bloom worked quick as a flash to undo the dirty diapers and pull them down, tossing them both to Scootaloo who seemed to treat them as if they were live bombs! She clumsily moved to toss them into the trash, relieved to see Twilight grab the trash bags with her magic afterwards and make sure the foul smelling undergarments were double bagged for good measure. Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, was using her magic to produce two new diapers from an opened package below, as well as wet wipes and foal powder (not to mention air freshener).
Diamond Tiara didn't wiggle too much as Apple Bloom cleaned her stinky rump and sprinkled in a few helpings of foal powder. The rich foal was glad to be smelling nice, and a new diaper felt absolutely refreshing to her.
The same couldn't be said for Silver Spoon, she was as jumpy and wiggly as they came. She kept shaking and kicking all about, which made it difficult for either Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle to get anywhere close to her.
"Come on, Silver Spoon, hold still!" Sweetie Belle complained as she kept trying to levitate some wet wipes over.
"Can't, the wipes tickwe! Tey so cowd!" Silver shivered.
Scootaloo growled, steadily losing her patience with her regressed friend. "I know they're cold, but if we don't clean you up properly you'll get a rash. Do you want that, young filly?! Because rashes hurt and they hurt bad!"
That did the trick, Silver Spoon froze in place. Not only would a rash be painful, but it would clash horribly with her gorgeous gray coat. She held still as the cold sensation of the wet wipes touched her rump. She was glad when it was over and she was rewarded for her cooperation with a new diaper, and plenty of sweet smelling foal powder.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had to resist the urge to high hoof each other, knowing that they would need to wash their hooves after performing such a "delicate" duty. Apple Bloom knew this too.
Twilight simply smiled. "No need to worry, the bathroom is just across the hall. Be sure to scrub those hooves thoroughly."
"And while you do that, I'll put these little ones down for a nap," Spike offered. "Trust me, little ones need sleep or they get very cranky. And you won't like them when they're cranky."
The regressed rich fillies barely remembered being set down in a crib. So naturally they were a bit surprised when they woke up to find themselves in said crib, surrounded by huge bars on either side, and a mobile hanging overhead that looked positively gigantic to them (it probably wasn't that big, they were just really small).
"Whewe awe we?" Silver Spoon wondered aloud as she rubbed her eyes, her eyes slowly adjusting to her surroundings. It felt so weird to be able to see without glasses.
"We in a cwib, duh," Diamond rolled her eyes. "We gots to get out of hewe."
Silver blinked. "Why, Titi? Ya got somewhewe ya need to be? Me thought ya dada goin' out of town so ya not wanna be home with ya mama."
Tiara groaned at her friend's apparent obliviousness. "We not gonna weave the castwe, nopony ewse need to see us wike tis. Bu we gots to get out of ta cwib. We gonna expowe ta castwe."
Silver stood up, throwing off the blanket that didn't match her coat at all. "Otay, tat bettew. Me onwy been inside castwe once, when Pwincess Twiwight get it aftew beating Tiwek. Me wanna see whowe castwe," But then she wondered. "Bu how we get out of cwib? We not have wings ow hown."
Diamond just grinned as a rather mischievous smile formed upon her face. "Give me ya bwanket. Me do tis aww the time as a foaw, espicawwy when Mama twy to gwound me. She nevew weaned how me do it." She chuckled at the few memories she could recall of making her mother chase her all around the mansion, often while Diamond herself was going diaperless. It was always so fun to see the expression on her mother's face, even if she always got caught and was punished severely for it in the end.
Silver gave her friend the blanket she had thrown off earlier, watching as her fellow regressed filly threw it up and over the bars of the crib. Tiara promptly grabbed hold of the blanket and started using it to ascend. Silver Spoon jumped up and down in excitement. "Titi, wait fow me!"
The foal with a beautiful pink coat extended a hoof to help her friend up, and the two regressed rich fillies managed (after a fair amount of slipping) to climb over the bars of the crib. They dropped to the ground, landing rump first as their diapers cushioned the blow.
Silver Spoon giggled, briefly poking her diaper with a hoof. "Wow! Me fowgot how nice and soft diapees awe!"
Diamond Tiara just stood up, adjusting quickly to the added girth of her padding and how it pushed her tiny legs apart. "Focus, Siwvy! We not gots a wot of time! When Pwincess Twiwight and ouw fwiends come back and find we not hewe, we gonna gets in big twoubwe. So wet's make ta most of ta time we gots!"
Silver reluctantly moved her hooves away from her diaper and stood up. She took a few steps forward, noticing how much she had to waddle because of what was currently hugging her rear end so tightly. Fortunately, her tail poked out through a hole in the back and she watched it swish from side to side. "Otay, whewe we gonna go?" She asked her friend.
Diamond shrugged her little hooves. "Me no know," Her eyes scanned the surrounding hallway. "Evewyting wooks ta same!"
"Didn't Pwincess Twiwight say tewe a wavatowy acwoss ta haww? Maybe we go in thewe?" Silver Spoon suggested to her friend as she trotted over.
"Why? Ya gots to go potty?" Tiara questioned her friend.
Silver shook her head. "Na-uh, and ya pwobabwy dun eithew."
The regressed filly shook her head too. "Nope, so thewe's no point goin' in thewe. Thewe nothing we can do except pway with potty, and tat fow dumb babies and not us!" Then an idea came to her. "Me gots it! We twy to find kitchen! We can have cookies!"
The silver coated foal licked her lips. "Mmm, cookies! Me wove cookies!"
Tiara smiled. "Me too! So wet's find kitchen and get some cookies! Come on!" She and Silver then trotted out of the nursery and into the hallways.
The foals promptly started checking every door they could come across and could push open with their strength. But door after door turned up nothing. There were lots of empty rooms, a few broom closets, and even a library (currently unoccupied). But their search failed to turn up any kitchen.
Suddenly, Silver's eyes locked onto a door at the end of the hallway that was slightly ajar. Could that be the kitchen she and her friend were searching for? Well there was only one way to find out for sure. She trotted over to it, preparing to push it open.
Diamond spun around and happened to catch a faint glint of something sticking out from behind the door. She seemed to realize what it was as a look of horror crossed her face! "Siwvy, dun open tat!" She shouted! Alas, her warning came too late.
The silver coated foal pushed the door open, and immediately she was greeted by an avalanche of brooms, buckets, dust pans, and other cleaning materials! If not for the quick thinking of her friend, she might well have been buried by the supplies as they spilled out and hit the floor with a loud crash!
Having heard the crash and afraid of a disaster, Twilight, Spike, and the CMC all rushed to where they had heard it coming from! As they came upon the scene they saw a visibly shaken Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as they stood just behind a huge crush of cleaning supplies that had spilled out of the opened closet in front of them.
Spike immediately put a claw to his face. "Oh no, I knew I was forgetting something! I forgot to turn on the foal monitor in the nursery!"
"No wonda it was so easy to escape ta nuwsewy." Diamond commented in amazement.
Twilight just sighed. "Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, I thought you two would know better. The potion didn't take your mental capabilities, you know right from wrong. And sneaking out of the nursery is very, very wrong."
"I'll say," Apple Bloom sternly scolded with what sounded like practiced precision. "Y'all could've gotten yourselves hurt!"
"And just look at the mess you caused!" Scootaloo added. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"
The two regressed fillies blushed and whimpered in shame. "We sowwy." They apologized at the same time.
Sweetie Belle just picked them both up with her magic, floating them close. "It's really our fault," She commented in realization. "One of us should've stayed in the nursery to keep an eye on you, or at least made sure the door was locked so you couldn't get out. You might have needed something and we would've never known."
"I was just about to say the same thing myself, Sweetie Belle," Twilight spoke up. "You three are supposed to be the caretakers, that means you need to take responsibility and watch your regressed friends. Especially when they're going to do foalish things like this," Then she sighed. "Guess I'll just clean up, again. One of these days I really need to get all these rooms labeled so others don't get lost."
"Why ya need so many cwosets in ta fwist pwace, Pwincess Twiwight?" Siwvy asked. "Why ya not hiwe maids and butwews wike Titi and I's famiwies do?"
Diamond added. "Yeah! Didn't ya castwe get bwoken into once by that poopy head Stawwight?" She giggled at her unintentionally childish remark.
"First of all," Twilight sternly cautioned. "Starlight is most definitely not a poopy head anymore. She has blossomed into a fine student and guidance counselor, and I couldn't be any more proud of her if I tried. So don't be talking bad about her, especially when you two weren't always nice ponies either," Then in a more gentle, reassuring tone she added. "As for why I don't hire any staff for my castle, it just doesn't feel right. Spike, Starlight, and I keep things spic and span around here as it is. The closets are just so it's easier to store cleaning supplies instead of having to go all over the castle to just find one closet. It's the same way with bathrooms, we have more than one since not everyone can just teleport to one."
"Oh, tat makes sense," Tiara commented and breathed a sigh of relief. "I so gwad ya not peeved with us fow escaping," Then the regressed rich filly gasped and put a hoof to her mouth! "Oopsie! Me no mean to say tat!"
Twilight blinked in surprise. "My goodness, where did a foal like you learn such a naughty word?"
Diamond gulped as she admitted. "Me once hewe Mama say tat when she yeww at a maid fow bweaking a vase. Me ask hew wha it is and she teww me nevew to wepeat it in pubwic 'cause it a diwty wowd."
Scootaloo nodded her head. "I'll say it is. And since you said a bad word, you're gonna have to be punished," She carefully picked up the pink coated foal with her hooves and looked into her eyes. "I think you know what that means."
Tiara gulped anew as a look of horror washed over her! "No, pwease, Scootawoo! Dun do it! Me sowwy! Me sweaw!" But in her act of pleading she unintentionally caused one of her hooves to smack Scootaloo on the snout!
It only stung for about a minute, but the tomboyish filly was clearly annoyed by it. "I'm sorry, Diamond Tiara. But you said a bad word, and you hit me. I know you didn't mean to, but that doesn't mean your actions are forgivable," She proceeded to explain. "And whenever I acted up around my Aunt Holiday, especially if I said a word she'd consider 'vulgar' there was only one punishment that awaited me."
The rich foal was stricken with a sense of dread as she felt her stomach sink. "Ya dun mean..."
Scootaloo simply led her charge away, holding the foal tightly in her hooves. "...I do!"
Diamond Tiara was soon carried by Scootaloo into one of the castle's bathrooms. She watched, trying not to gulp again as she the much older filly turn on the tap and produce a bar of soap. "Since you said a naughty word, we're going to have to clean that filthy tongue of yours," Scootaloo explained as she brought the bar close to Diamond's mouth. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but it has to be done. Part of being a foal means that when you do something wrong you get punished for it."
Diamond gulped. "But me sowwy, me pwomise not to say tat wowd again. And me no mean to hit ya eithew, is just a accident."
"Accident or not, I'm afraid you're still getting punished. If you cooperate, I won't make you sit in the time out corner afterwards," Scootaloo offered. "Trust me, when I was a foal that was the second worst punishment I could ever receive. I think you guess what the worst one was."
Tiara didn't need to guess, she had a few experiences of being dealt such a punishment and none of them were pleasant. "I guess it's a good thing Scootaloo's not going to do that to me." She thought to herself. That made her slightly relieved, slightly being the key word.
Scootaloo placed the bar of soap on Diamond's tongue while she carefully brought the regressed filly close to the running tap. "Three or four good scrubbings should do the trick. Aunt Holiday would make me scrub much longer every time I used foul language, especially if she thought the word was particularly vulgar. And Auntie Lofty would do it too sometimes," She explained. "Let's just say I learned very quickly to watch what I said around them."
In between the first and second scrubbing (in all their unpleasant glory), the rich foal asked Scootaloo. "Ya not have pawents who waise ya?"
Scootaloo paused briefly in her punishment, blinking a bit. "Huh? Oh no no no, I have parents. They're famous adventure ponies! Probably even more famous than Daring Do, don't tell Rainbow Dash I said that!"
"Ten how come me nevew see tem? How come ya awways bwing Wainbow Dash ow ya aunts fow Famiwy Appweciation Day?" Tiara questioned. She couldn't even remember seeing any pictures of Scootaloo's parents at any point, despite having slept over at the filly's house a couple of times.
At that Scootaloo sighed, and it was an unhappy sigh at that. "Because my parents are always away, exploring some far reach of Equestria and tangling with rare creatures and plants. I wanted to go with them many times, but they always say their work is too dangerous. So we just keep in touch through letters. It's nice, but it's not the nice as having them actually be there. My aunts have kind of been there for me more than they have," She sighed further. "I know my parents have important jobs, and what they do is amazing! But I'd really like it if they could be home more often, instead of only stopping by for the occasional birthday if they have time."
Diamond hugged Scootaloo as best she could upon hearing that (which really amounted to more of a nose boop than anything else). "Me sowwy ya pawents so busy. At weast ya aunts awe pwetty coow. Ya Auntie Wofty's an awesome bakew!"
The tomboyish filly licked her lips. "She sure is, nopony can bake better than her," Then she blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Hey, wait a minute. I see what you're trying to do. You're not getting out of your punishment, you've still got two more scrubbings to do young filly."
The next two scrubbings came and went without fanfare, then Scootaloo turned off the faucet. "There, now hopefully you'll remember your lesson about not using foul language," She tried to make her voice sound as parental as possible. "Now then, why don't we..." But her sentence was cut off as something else foul caught her attention.
Tiara's cheeks flushed bright red with embarrassment. "S-sowwy," She apologized. "Me stinky."
"Ugh, tell me about it!" Scootaloo gagged anew. "I guess your mouth isn't the only thing that's getting cleaned. When someponies call using bad words being a potty mouth, I don't think they mean it literally!"
Diamond just continued to blush in shame. "Me twy to wawn ya next time me do tat. Me had to do it aww the time with Mama so she couwd find somepony eswe to change me. She no wanna do it hewsewf 'Too uncouth' she'd say."
Scootaloo just plugged her nose. "Well I'm not like your mom. You need a change and I'm going to take care of it myself, much as I might like to have somepony else do it. And this time I'll have to do it all by myself," She looked at the foul smelling foal in her care. "You promise not to put up a fight?"
Tiara nodded very slowly. "Me wanna get cweaned up and smewwing nice. So yeah, me coopewate."
"Good. Just sit tight for a second," Scootaloo instructed and called out into the hallway. "Twilight, there's a bit of a situation! I need changing supplies, stat!"
Twilight soon teleported to Scootaloo's location with wet wipes, powder, rash cream (just to be safe) and a new diaper. She gave all the supplies to Scootaloo and watched as the filly rushed into the bathroom with them as soon as they were placed in her hooves.
Twilight took a moment to levitate a clothespin onto her nose, as well as levitate over some air freshener. Then she trotted into the bathroom after Scootaloo. But to her surprise, Scootaloo had already managed to undo Diamond's soiled diaper and drop it in the trash, and the filly was now currently in the process of wiping down her regressed friend's rump. "Wow, Scootaloo! You've learned fast!"
Scootaloo was too busy focusing on the change to pay any attention to what Twilight had said. And the smell was certainly a big motivator in getting it done as fast and efficiently as possible. She was definitely glad when it was all over and Twilight was spraying the bathroom with air freshener. "Phew! What a relief!" The filly declared as she washed her hooves. "Thanks for behaving so well during all of that, Diamond."
Diamond, meanwhile, just admired her spotless diaper. "Ya did gweat, Scootawoo. Though ya ovewdid it on ta powder," She spoke as a few puffs of foal powder spilled out. "Othewwise, can't compwain."
As Scootaloo finished washing her hooves she declared. "Well, I think you've earned a reward for that. How about a nice, warm bottle?"
Tiara eagerly clapped her hooves, looking forward to her well earned, tasty reward. "Yay! Baba!"
Scootaloo was as good as her word, as soon as she was done washing her hooves she scooped Diamond Tiara up and carried her to the kitchen to prepare the bottle.
As luck would have it, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were already there with Silver Spoon. The two fillies having placed the foal in a highchair that had been provided for them. "She said she was gettin' hungry, so we decided now would be great for feedin' time." Apple Bloom explained.
"Great," Scootaloo declared as she looked down at Diamond Tiara. "You still want just a bottle, or do you want something more? You might be hungry too."
Diamond Tiara nodded her head. "Baba nice, but me couwd go fow someting gweatew!"
Silver Spoon clapped her hooves, trying to bounce up and down in her highchair but to no avail! "Me wan cookies!" She licked her lips in anticipation.
Diamond joined. "Yeah, cookies!"
Sweetie Belle shook her head even though she found the display from her regressed friends to be oh so cute. "I'm sorry, you can't have cookies. You'll spoil your appetite."
"Or you might get tummy aches, and that'd be really messy," Apple Bloom declared while waving a hoof across her nose to illustrate her point. "You two need proper meals."
Silver just grumbled. "No faiw. Me wan cookies!"
Sweetie just shook her head again. "Maybe sometime later, but for now what you two need are some num-nums for your tum-tums that won't make you sick."
Spike was looking in the nearby cupboards as he commented. "Well, that might be a problem. We don't have any foal food. I'll have to tell Twilight to go shopping for some."
Apple Bloom just smiled. "No problem, we don't need foal food. We can just feed 'em some applesauce. Never known a pony yet who doesn't like it," Then she looked at Spike. "You do have some applesauce, don't you?"
"Should be some in the fridge." Spike replied as the dragon went to go check.
However, Silver made a face and stuck out her tongue. "Appwesauce is yucky! Me wan someting bettew!"
"I'm afraid the only other options are oatmeal or mashed up apples," Scootaloo declared. "There really isn't much foals can eat that are good for them since we don't have foal food."
Sweetie Belle then got an idea. "Tell you what," She told both foals. "If you cooperate and eat all the applesauce and oatmeal we provide for you, then you can have a few cookies. 'A few' being the key word. Does that sound good?"
Both Diamond and Silver clapped and giggled. "Yeah, tat sounds gweat!"
"Good!" Scootaloo declared as she approached both foals. "But you're gonna have to wait a while for us to make the oatmeal. And if you cause any trouble, you're not getting any cookies. You'll just go straight to the time out corner with no dessert."
"So no wanderin' off again," Apple Bloom scolded. "We can't risk another scare like the one you gave us earlier, y'all are lucky ya didn't get hurt."
"Dun wowwy, we be good. We Pinkie Pwomise," Tiara insisted as she then led her fellow regressed filly in the chant. "Cwoss ouw heawts and hope to fwy, stick a cupcake in ouw eyes." Thankfully they avoided the mistake of poking themselves in the eye during the final part of the chant.
Spike came by a moment later and lifted both foals from their highchairs, placing them in a playpen he had set up in the kitchen. It had a couple of toys, including alphabet blocks and stuffed animals. He also took the liberty of checking both foals' diapers. "Can't be too sure with foals, sometimes they can have accidents without knowing it." He told them.
"But we cwean! In fact, me just got changed by Scootawoo! She make ta funniest faces when she do it!" Tiara puffed out her chest and then giggled at the image of Scootaloo's scrunched up face.
The not so little dragon just shrugged his claws. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know. Otherwise, I need to let Twilight know to buy some foal food. And then I need to make sure the CMC don't burn down the castle."
"My mom's the one who burns stuff, not me! Rarity gave me cooking lessons specifically so that wouldn't happen!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, which made her fellow Crusaders laugh.
While the Cutie Mark Crusaders worked on preparing the oatmeal (and Apple Bloom brought out the jar of applesauce Spike had managed to find in the fridge), Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon occupied themselves in the playpen as best they could.
They quickly engrossed themselves in building up and then knocking down several different structures made out of the alphabet blocks: Towers, houses, and even a half complete city (before they ran out of blocks to use). When that got boring they switched over to the various stuffed animals, making them fight each other (mostly with slaps).
They were almost sad to see the fun end when they were picked up, Diamond Tiara by Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon by Sweetie Belle. Both were plopped into highchairs in the kitchen as bowls of applesauce and steaming hot oatmeal were presented to them.
"Go ahead now, eat up," Apple Bloom encouraged the tiny duo. "There's no cookies unless ya do."
"You should start with the applesauce, the oatmeal might need a little time to cool off." Scootaloo warned as she brought over some plastic spoons and bibs. Diamond wore a pink one, and Silver a blue one.
Tiara tried to grab hold of the plastic spoon in front of her, a task that was harder than it should've been due to her clumsy, tiny hooves. Every time she seemed to grab it, the spoon would slip from her grasp and cause her to groan. "Why tis so hawd? Me can do tis!" She stubbornly complained.
Silver had similar troubles. Though she could grasp the spoon with little difficulty, trying to move it towards either bowl would just result in her dropping it before she could get close. "Stupid spoon!" She growled and threw it down on the table. "Me just use hooves instead!" She tried to wiggle out of her high chair and crawl towards the food. But even when she was able to get out she was quickly enveloped in the soft glow of Sweetie's magic and plopped right back in.
"You're foals now, you can't do all the things you used to do by yourself," Sweetie explained to them. "Besides, isn't the whole point of this supposed to be that we take care of you?"
Diamond just grumbled. "Is so humiwiating to not be able to feed yasewf."
"At weast ya dun have to awways get wectuwed on tawbe mannews," Silver snorted in response. "Mama awways make me take tem even aftwe me stop being a foaw. She wan me to be 'pwopew pony'."
"Well you don't have to be a 'proper pony' now or a 'rich pony' for that matter. Now you can just be yourselves," Spike encouraged. "And that means you can count on others to help you eat."
Reluctantly, the two regressed fillies surrendered their dignity. Their grumbling stomachs weren't going to argue with Spike's logic.
Diamond Tiara had Apple Bloom and Scootaloo spoon feed her, Apple Bloom took care of the applesauce and Scootaloo handled the oatmeal. Diamond's eyes went wide when she got her first taste of such common food! Applesauce was rare at her house, and the only oatmeal she was allowed to taste was the kind that had added stuff to make it taste worthy of a rich pony. "Yummy! Me wove tis!" She happily declared as she accepted spoonful after spoonful, quickly getting traces of goop on her bib and her face.
Silver Spoon cooperated when Spike fed her the applesauce, but the moment Sweetie Belle tried to levitate over a spoonful of oatmeal the former glasses wearing foal turned her head.
"Come on, it's just oatmeal. Open up!" Sweetie pleaded with her regressed friend.
Silver shook her head, the oatmeal didn't smell very appetizing to her. When one had a parent who worked in the restaurant business the way Silver's father did, you quickly learned how to tell when stuff was added to food to try to change its taste. And unfortunately, Silver was very particular about what she accepted and what she didn't. "Ya put cinnamon and honey in thewe, me no wike tat."
Sweetie sighed. "But it's supposed to make it taste better. What kind of foal wouldn't want that?"
The silver coated foal refused to turn her head back around. "Me!"
Sweetie found herself quickly losing patience with her regressed friend. "But you promised to cooperate! If you don't eat this then you're not getting any cookies! And I thought you wanted cookies."
That seemed to do the trick, Silver Spoon swung her head back around very suddenly and seemed to motion for her friend to levitate the spoon closer.
Sweetie did so, but to her surprise Silver Spoon grabbed hold of it suddenly and flung it hard! The oatmeal flew off the spoon, promptly splattering onto the wall behind her!
Seeing this, Diamond Tiara did the same with the next spoonful of oatmeal offered to her! Except instead of it hitting the wall it struck Spike square in the face. Fortunately, the dragon was able to use his tongue to clean himself up pretty quickly. "Hey, what gives?! I didn't do anything to you!" He complained with a snort, smoke billowing out of his nostrils as a result.
But neither Diamond or Silver seemed to care, both foals just giggled as they quickly crawled out of their high chairs and to their respective bowls of oatmeal. They put their hooves into the food then brought them back up and started flinging it every which way!
Sweetie Belle quickly used her magic to throw up a protective shield, while Scootaloo tried to block the bombardments with her wings after seeing Spike do the same! Apple Bloom, meanwhile, dodged around or ducked under the traces of oatmeal as they kept flying towards her.
Pretty soon not just the walls but also the floors of the kitchen were getting covered in oatmeal! And Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giggled with glee, clearly delighting in causing such a mess!
The "fun" didn't stop until an unaware Twilight came trotting into the kitchen, and without warning she got hit square in the muzzle with oatmeal from Silver Spoon's bowl. Lighting up her horn she was able to clear it away, and then she got a good look at the state of the kitchen. To say she was displeased would be an understatement, the pronounced frown upon her face made it apparent more than words that she was anything but happy. "Okay, this little food fight is over!" She shouted, before lighting up her horn again and surrounding both foals with her magic, thus preventing them from moving.
"Sorry, Twilight," Spike sighed as he let his wings rest. "I guess I should've expected this. Flurry Heart loved doing this every time we tried to feed her. Especially if it was Mashed Peas."
Twilight shook her head. "It really isn't your fault, Spike," She turned her attention to the two regressed fillies. "You two should know better than to cause food fights. Just look at the mess you've caused."
The foals whimpered. "We sowwy, Pwincess Twiwight."
The young alicorn just sighed anew. "Well, you had your fun. Now you're going to have to help clean up the kitchen. When you make a mess, you have to clean up after it. And when we're all done, the two of you are going to need a bath. Just look at yourselves." Both foals had traces of oatmeal all over their coats and even in their manes.
Twilight soon levitated over some soap, buckets of water, and several rags. And she supervised not just the foals but also Spike and the Crusaders, pitching in a little bit herself as all worked to get the kitchen cleaned up and looking spotless again.
With six ponies and a dragon working together, the cleaning took less than it probably would've taken had any one of them tried to do it on their own. But it still took a while since oatmeal had gotten everywhere: On the walls, on the floors, countless counter tops, you name it.
At last, however, the cleaning was done. And that meant it was time for the foals' free bath that they had "earned" for their troubles.
Before that could be tended to however, there came a knock at the front door of the castle. Spike instinctively flew away to answer it, soon calling back. "Twilight, you might wanna hold off on that bath. There's an important pony here to see you."
Twilight teleported to Spike's location as the Crusaders rushed after her, nearly out of breath by the time they caught up with her. To their surprise they found Twilight nose to nose with a plump and smartly dressed earth pony mare of medium height. She sported a dazzling silver coat with golden locks in her mane and tail, and wore a red velvet dress with purple trim that matched her sparkling ruby eyes. Her cutie mark depicted something akin to a pony at a bank, the sort that would stand behind a counter and give money.
The mare took one look at the foals that clunk to Twilight's mane and she immediately gasped! "Silver Spoon!" She exclaimed! "My little bit! Is that you?!"
Silver Spoon reluctantly whimpered and nodded. "Yeah, Mama, is me. And tis is Titi."
Mrs. Spoon snorted a bit. "As I figured. Now, would you mind telling me just why in the wide, wide world of Equestria you two are foals again? Did the princess do this to you? I've been looking everywhere for you two, never did I suspect I'd find you here and like this."
Twilight simply explained. "Mrs. Spoon."
"Silver Standard, thank you." Silver Standard firmly declared.
"Silver Standard," Twilight corrected. "Despite what you might think I'm not the one who turned your daughter and her friend back into foals. That was the decision of three fillies I'm sure need no introduction by now."
The Crusaders reluctantly stepped forward, eyeing Silver Spoon's mother as she seemed to glare at them. "Oh, so it was that farm filly who my daughter says has been fooling about with potions? And her friends too? I should've known they would do something like this."
Apple Bloom gulped as she pleaded. "Silver Standard, we're sorry we regressed your daughter. But she and Diamond Tiara agreed to it. It was part of a bet we made, we even told 'em what the potion they ended up drinkin' was supposed to do."
Silver Standard blinked in surprise, eyeing her regressed daughter. "Is that true, Silver Spoon?" When her daughter nodded she gasped and stumbled back in shock! "But why would you agree to such a thing?! Didn't you know that you and Diamond Tiara were spending the week with me?! You specifically pleaded with me to invite Diamond Tiara over when she told you her father would be out of town."
Silver Spoon sheepishly explained. "Di was gonna go thwough with it so she couwd have a bettew foaw hood. Me wanted ta suppowt hew in it, so me agweed to do it too. Me no mean to make ya wowwy."
"We're really sorry about this, we promise not to do it again!" Scootaloo pleaded. "But we kind of need to give them a bath, they started a food fight in the kitchen because of oatmeal. It's a long story."
Silver Standard just sighed. "Well, if it were just my little bit I would demand the return of her to my care at once. I still have many of her old foal supplies on hoof. But my house is not equipped to handle two foals, and I doubt Spoiled Rich would be willing to share what foal supplies she didn't part with after her daughter outgrew them. And Celestia knows all the butlers and maids work hard enough as it is keeping my house spic and span. I don't wish to add onto their workload and give myself more headaches."
"So me can stawy hewe with Titi" Silver Spoon hopefully asked.
Silver Standard nodded very slowly. "I expect you to be on your best behavior, though. No more food fights, no more being a picky eater, and certainly no wandering off and making a mess of places: Figuratively or literally. And the same should go for your friend," She then cautioned. "But the Riches are going to hear about this. When Filthy Rich comes back or if Spoiled Rich comes over to my place and doesn't see her daughter there, I'll be sure to tell her what you've told me."
Diamond gulped. "Mama gonna be so mad, and Dada too! Me hope tey dun baw me fwom hanging out with ta Cwusadews."
"I'm afraid that'll be up to them to decide and not me," Silver Standard cautioned. "I'm not going to lie for your other friends. If they chose to do this they'd better be prepared to face the consequences. And the moment you're both back to normal, I expect you two to come to me. Is that clear?" Both foals nodded. "Good," The plump mare nodded. "Now I must be going. And Silver Spoon, you do your best to uphold the family reputation. I'm giving your friends full authority to punish you as I would if you act up." And with that she departed.
The arrival of Silver Standard did not alter the plans originally in place for the little ones. They were soon brought into one of the castle's bathrooms and placed on the tiled floor as Twilight prepared a bath for them.
Sweetie Belle quickly got an idea, pulling out a bubble bath solution. "Bubble baths are more fun than regular baths," She declared. "What do you think?" She asked her regressed friends, who nodded in response. Thus the solution was added to the bath water.
After testing the water to make sure it wasn't too hot or too cold, Twilight used her magic to lower both foals into the tub. The Crusaders came over with cups and towels, as well as a few bath toys that they placed in the tub for their young charges.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon quickly engrossed themselves in playing with a toy boat and a rubber ducky, imagining themselves on an epic adventure:
Captain Diamond Tiara stood on the bridge of her ship amidst a billowing sea with waves whiped to new heights by a mighty tempest! Winds rocked the boat back and forth, threatening to capsize it. And the rain fell so hard and fast it was almost impossible to see anything.
First Mate Silver Spoon could see through the stormy darkness with ease, though. She and her captain were on the lookout for a mighty creature that was said to be incredibly rare. A creature that some even thought did not exist.
Suddenly, a loud splash drew the attention of First Mate Silver Spoon! Peering through her trusty telescope she quickly caught sight of something. It was a giant duck that was a golden yellow in color, and its cry was a high pitched squeaking sound. "Thar she blows, Captain Diamond!" She shouted up to the bridge. "A mighty creature she is, is she not?!"
"The mightiest in all the land, First Mate Silver. But she be no match for this vessel and her crew," Captain Diamond gave the command. "All hooves on deck, we be chasing after that beast!"
The ship soon steered itself to where the duck had last appeared. But as it drew closer it looked something else was approaching, a curtain of water! The ship's crew tried to steer to the right, hoping to avoid the fast approaching shower. But alas their decision was too late to prevent the inevitable.
A splash of water snapped both foals back to reality as their manes became soaked! They had momentarily forgotten their whereabouts, so engrossed were they in their fantasy.
"Sorry," Sweetie Belle apologized to them. "But we needed to rinse you off so the shampoo doesn't stay in your manes and tails. You two cooperated so well during the bath."
"But it's time to get out, now," Apple Bloom declared as she eyed the drain plug. "Can't have ya stay in that tub forever."
But Diamond pouted, she was enjoying herself enormously and didn't want the fun to end. "Can't me and Siwvy pway fow a few mowe minutes? Pwease?"
Try as they might, the Crusaders couldn't resist the pleading puppy dog eyes looks they got from the regressed fillies. Apple Bloom reluctantly relented. "Oh, alright. Just a couple more minutes, but that's it."
"Yay!" The foals cheered, and went back to playing pretend as they picked up from where their earlier adventure had abruptly ended. This time they would successfully hunt down that majestic golden duck.
For Diamond and Silver the week seemed to fly by for them. They slowly got used to what was expected of them as foals, and for the most part they started cooperating a lot more instead of intentionally or unintentionally making things worse.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders learned a lot more about foals and how to care for them as the week passed (slowly for them). By the week's end even Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo knew how to do things like change diapers, heat up bottles, and tuck foals into bed.
On the last night before the two regressed fillies were to go back to normal, the Crusaders opted to let their young charges stay up later than they had previously allowed. Sweetie Belle framed it as a chance for them to enjoy their final waking moments as foals.
Diamond and Silver quite enjoyed the experience, even though they were forced to wear rather embarrassing (and itchy as far as Silver was concerned) sleep wear. Both wore fluffy onesies done up in foalish shades of pink, blue, and yellow. And both had cute little animals printed all over, as well as a zipper hatch in the back for easy diaper changes.
"Tis was nice, ya vewy good mommies." Diamond Tiara commented to the Crusaders as she sat on the floor of the nursery, largely occupying herself with nearby toys.
Apple Bloom smiled. "That's mighty sweet of ya to say. It was actually kind of interestin' to take care of you two in this way."
Silver Spoon just commented in reply. "We shouwd do tis again, except ya be the foaws and we be the mommies."
Sweetie Belle blushed at the idea. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"Yeah," Scootaloo nervously chuckled as she massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "Twilight made us promise not to regress ponies again. Besides, from what my aunts tell me I was a pretty mischievous foal. If you turned my back on me for even a minute I'd get into all kinds of trouble. And I was quite a stinker."
Diamond just shrugged her hooves. "Weww, maybe ta next time ya wose a bet to us we can see about it," Then she paused briefly as she wondered. "I hope Mama dun gwound me fow tis when she finds out. She the weason why me go thwough with tis in ta fiwst pwace."
"She not gonna gwound ya," Silver reassured her friend. "My mama make suwe of tat. And ya know my mama is a wot nicew tan youws."
Tiara nodded and then let out a yawn. Normally she could stay up pretty darn late without any trouble, but her tiny body was making that impossible. She looked up at the Crusaders and yawned again. "Me getting sweepy."
Silver yawned as well. "Yeah, me too. Is time fow nighty nights."
Sweetie looked down at the foals as she cooed. "You sure you don't wanna try and stay up for just a little bit longer? Because when you wake up tomorrow you'll be back to your normal selves, we won't be your mommies anymore."
The foals responded with more yawns. It was clear that, as much as they might like to stay up later it would not be possible.
So the Crusaders picked up the regressed fillies and after a quick inspection of diapers (and finding both foals to be dry) placed the two in the crib together. By now they knew to leave the foal monitor on and to make sure the nursery door was closed so that the little ones couldn't get out. "Sleep tight." They called, watching the little ones' chests bob up and down as they shut their eyes.
The Crusaders woke bright and early the next morning, but when they didn't hear any sounds of distress coming from the nursery they decided to hold off and let their charges sleep for a little bit longer while they enjoyed breakfast with Twilight.
But when the Crusaders entered the nursery afterward, they were quite shocked at what greeted their eyes!
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had indeed gone back to normal, just like they were intended to. However, the diapers they'd been wearing had not disappeared or been shredded. The onesies had turned into filly pajamas, but the diapers had become sized up. The trio of fillies couldn't help but gasp, which had the unintended side effect of waking the ponies who had just been foals last night.
Diamond and Silver quickly took notice of what had drawn the gasps, the padded undergarments that still clung to their rumps. They blushed bright red as they clumsily took off their pajamas, climbed out of the crib, and tossed the diaper aside. "Tell anypony about this, and you're dead!" Diamond insisted in no uncertain terms.
"No worries, we won't tell. I doubt anypony would believe us even if we did tell them," Scootaloo firmly replied. "And we didn't take any pictures either. Well, aside from a few quick mental ones."
Just then, Twilight came trotting into the nursery. She was quite relieved to see both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had returned to normal. "Good, there appear to be no side effects at all," She commented as she enveloped both fillies in their magic. "You don't feel any different, do you?"
Both fillies shook their heads as Silver declared. "Nope, we're positively fine. I mean, I kind of feel a bit groggy, but I always feel that way first thing in the morning. I'm sure it will wear off eventually."
"Well if you find yourselves starting to have any problems at all, let me know," Twilight cautioned, before turning to the Crusaders. "And as for you three, remember that I don't want you to regress anypony ever again without coming to see me first. Regression spells and potions are very dangerous if used improperly."
Apple Bloom gave a salute. "When we promise somethin' we keep that promise, Crusaders honor!" She firmly declared, and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle joined her.
Twilight nodded her head. "Alright then. You fillies can go do... whatever it is you normally do. I'll just get the nursery cleaned up and ready in case it's ever needed again." And she watched as the five fillies rushed away, intent to enjoy the summer day in all its glory.
Not long after the fillies had left, Starlight Glimmer came trotting into the castle. She was surprised when she didn't find Twilight anywhere, and was even more surprised when Spike told her where to find the alicorn. "Hey, Twilight," Starlight cheerfully greeted as she entered the nursery. "I just got back from visiting Sunburst, you would not believe the week I had," Then she looked around, noticing discarded toys, onesies, and even diapers (rather big diapers at that, big enough to fit a filly). "Did I miss something?" She wondered aloud.
Without turning to look at the unicorn Twilight just answered. "It's a long story, Starlight."
