(Warning!: Contains diapers and AB/DL themes, reader discretion is strongly recommended! Tagged AU for obvious reasons.) While preparing to move, Scootaloo's parents accidentally discover that Scootaloo likes to be treated as a foal.
(WARNING!: Make no mistake about it, this IS a padded pony fic! And as such, it WILL contain content that some viewers may (and probably will) find disturbing. If such material is at ALL outside your comfort zone, then please click elsewhere and do not, I repeat, DO NOT READ! You have been warned! Rated Mature for fetish material, though content should be mostly PG-13. Takes place in an AU during the events of "The Last Crusade", a birthday present for Matt11. Proofread by Foal Star.)
As Scootaloo's parents prepare to pack up their things and move to Shire Lanka, they stumble across something that their daughter has gone to great lengths to keep hidden and something most unusual: Foal supplies!
An inquiry soon reveals that the supplies belong to Scootaloo, who has had a not so secret desire to be treated like a foal for some time. With her secret found out and her parents disapproving, she does the only thing she can think of and runs away!
While Scootaloo seeks refuge with her aunts at their cottage, Snap and Mane struggle to figure out why their daughter could ever have an interest in such foalish fantasies. As they investigate through some of Scootaloo's foalsitters, the two must come to an uncomfortable realization about their own parenting style.
At first, the news that her parents were finally coming home from their adventures was so incredible Scootaloo could hardly believe it was happening. When her parents showed up to the schoolhouse and had taken her and her Crusader friends out for ice cream sundaes as a celebration, it seemed like nothing could ruin the mood of this fantastic day.
Alas, things took a turn for the worse when Snap and Mane announced that they were moving to Shire Lanka and that Scootaloo was going to be with them. Several attempts to try and convince the filly's parents to change their mind ended in failure, and Scootaloo had begun to resign herself to the very real possibility of leaving behind the town she'd called home and all the friends she'd made there.
Snap and Mane were not completely unconcerned about their daughter's defiance, but it seemed they had already made up their minds and were convinced Scootaloo would come around in time. Moving to Shire Lanka would mean they'd all be together as a family again. No longer would the two adventurers have to rely on sending letters whenever they were close enough to a post office to deliver one. It really seemed like a good idea even if their daughter didn't agree.
So it was that Snap and Mane were busy boxing up everything in their house in preparation for the big move. It wouldn't be until the end of the week but that was fast approaching. They were even preparing to put their house up for sale the next day. Scootaloo hadn't come home yet but neither parent was overly worried, even before they'd entrusted care of their daughter to others (including Snap's sister and her special somepony) they'd gotten used to the fact that Scootaloo was a free range filly. She stayed out until nearly dark sometimes, and there was always a key or somepony waiting to let her into the house.
However, as Snap Shutter was finishing up with putting everything from his photography studio into boxes, he happened to sniff. A faint and vaguely familiar smell seemed to tickle his nostrils, although the stallion couldn't be sure it wasn't just mold or dust. "That's odd." He whispered to himself as he paused to sniff the air again.
Although it had been very quiet, Mane Allgood's trained ears had picked up what her husband was saying. She set down a bunch of cardboard boxes she'd been carrying and came over to him. "What's odd, dear? Is everything alright?"
"Hun, take a whiff and tell me you smell what I'm smellin'," Snap instructed. "Tell me I'm not imaginin' things."
Mane did so, and ended up sneezing and briefly fluttering into the air. "Well, I definitely smell something. What is it that you smell, Snap?" She asked the stallion.
Snap explained. "I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm smellin' cornstarch powder," He lowered his snout to the ground and started sniffing more. "And it smells like it's comin' from down the hallway. Sure hope we didn't accidentally spill somethin' my sis left behind." He began to follow the smell down the hallway in order to trace its source, his wife following close behind as she too smelt the smell.
The smell of cornstarch powder grew stronger and more recognizable as the two adventurers made their way down a long hallway. It wasn't coming from their bathroom, so any possibility of it being a perfume Holiday had forgotten to take with her was now ruled out.
In fact, was it the imagination of the two or did the scent appear to be coming from Scootaloo's bedroom? Well, neither Snap Shutter or Mane Allgood had become the adventurers that they were by leaving things alone. If something warranted further investigation or a closer look they were always the kind to keep inspecting until they had a satisfactory answer.
The door to Scootaloo's bedroom had been left open ajar, most likely from the filly's rush to hang out with her friends while she still could. The smell was most definitely coming from within the room, so Snap pushed the door open further and trotted inside with his wife accompanying him but a second later.
Inside Scootaloo's bedroom there were a few boxes that sat empty, they hadn't been used yet. Heck, they hadn't even been opened. The entire room was still lined with posters of the Wonderbolts as well as Rainbow Dash, and even a few posters of the legendary pillar of bravery himself: Flash Magnus. Atop the filly's bed rested her hoof-stitched Rainbow Dash plushie Auntie Lofty had sewn for her. And of course Scootaloo's trusty scooter, a birthday gift from her parents, lay at the foot of the bed alongside the accompanying blue safety helmet.
Yet nothing on or near the bed seemed to be admitting the source of the now almost overwhelming scent of cornstarch powder, along with a faint hint of lavender. In fact, the strong smells seemed to be coming from under the bed.
Though usually respectful of their daughter's privacy, Snap and Mane were determined to discover the source of the smells they'd been smelling. So they decided not to wait until their daughter came home, and ask her. Instead, they opted to bend down and inspect a small crawl space underneath the bed.
It was dark and musty under there, and it was clearly meant for a filly to navigate it instead of fully grown ponies. But Snap was able to make out something out of the corner of his light raspberry eyes. He thought he saw a triangle shaped object, but he couldn't be sure and there was only one way to find out. Using a hoof, Snap reached out to grab the object and pull it closer for further inspection.
Mane helped since her pegasus body made her slightly more agile, enabling her to lift up one end of the bed just enough for her husband to pull the object free from its resting place. Then she carefully set the bed back down again. The effort hardly registered in her, this was the same mare who'd once wing wrestled a wyvern after all (and had assisted her husband in subduing several fully grown cragadiles).
Now fully out in the light, Snap and Mane got a closer look at the object that had been hidden. Or rather objects, because there were several of them! These included some worn out alphabet blocks, an old rattle, a cyan blue pacifier, and even a bottle of cornstarch foal powder and lavender scented wet wipes. Then they saw a package with a dozen of white plastic squares tightly packed into each other. The father and mother were both quite stunned seeing the package of what were clearly diapers, with a few sticking out of a hastily opened package that still managed to display the words: Silly Filly.
Mane Allgood then noticed something sticking out from underneath Scootaloo's pillow. Pulling it out revealed the object to be a set of hoofie pajamas styled after Rainbow Dash's coat and cutie mark, but with added room in the back alongside a zipper.
In short, Snap and Mane found themselves staring at foal supplies. The size of everything, especially the diapers and the pajamas indicated that they would fit their daughter perfectly. But that could mean anything, right? It didn't automatically mean what the two feared it meant, did it?
Well, the parents knew that there was only one way to find out. All they had to do was wait for Scootaloo to come home.
Scootaloo finally came home several hours later, unaware of her parents' discovery. The tomboyish filly had spent the day unsuccessfully brainstorming new ideas with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders to try and get her parents to abandon their planned move to Shire Lanka.
To say that the ideas had not been successful would be an understatement. Scootaloo still shuddered at the memory of Apple Bloom concocting a potion that had literally binded the Crusaders together, which had required a visit to Zecora in order to have an antidote brewed up.
It really seemed like nothing was going to convince her parents as Scootaloo entered the house and shut the door behind her. To her surprise, however, her mom and dad were already waiting for her. And from the looks on their faces it didn't seem like they were very pleased with her at the moment.
"H-hey Mom, hey Dad," Scootaloo nervously greeted. She suspected something was up but had no idea what. "Is... everything okay?"
Mane Allgood spoke up first, her grayish purple eyes looking deep into the similarly colored eyes of her daughter as they cast that all powerful intimidating glare that made even the most dangerous of predators tremble with fear. "We were hoping you could tell us, Scootaloo. Your father and I made a discovery, and we'd really like to know just what in the name of Celestia is going on."
Snap Shutter was serious and blunt. "Come on, mate. Let us show you what your mum and I uncovered. Don't think of tryin' to run away, we're not lettin' this go until we get some answers."
So Scootaloo reluctantly followed her parents as they brought her to her bedroom. They then laid bare all the sized up foal supplies they'd discovered hours earlier as the filly gulped. "So... you know?" She answered as her wings buzzed with nervous energy.
"Know what, mate?" Snap questioned as he kept the serious glare up. "You been wettin' the bed again or somethin'? I thought we fixed that issue already."
But the tomboyish filly protested as she shook her head. "No, it's not because I'm wetting the bed. I haven't done that in years," And she confessed to her parents. "All of these things are mine, I've been collecting them in secret. In fact, I've worn the pajamas and the diapers, used the pacifier and played with all those toys."
Mane then questioned. "And the changing supplies? I assume that means you've been... well..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say anything more. And she didn't need to since her line of conversation made it clear what she was implying.
Scootaloo's cheeks flushed faintly. "Sometimes, though usually not."
Snap and Mane felt their jaws drop wide open as Snap exclaimed! "Crikey! What's the matter with you, Scoot?! You're way too old to be wearin' diapers and dressin' up like a foal. Your mum and I worked hard to get you out of diapers, and now you're just throwin' that all away?!"
The tears began to well up inside Scootaloo as she angrily confessed! "It's not that I want to be a helpless little foal who can't do anything! It's not that I don't care about the work you put into getting me potty trained."
"Then why would you indulge in something so... so... Well, I don't even know what to call it," Mane Allgood bitterly remarked. "It's not natural though, whatever it is."
Scootaloo stomped her hooves down. "I knew you two wouldn't understand!"
"Understand what, Scoot?!" Snap angrily inquired. "That our only daughter likes to dress up like and act like an overgrown toddler?! Do you take us for a bunch of drongos?!"
With tears flowing freely, the tomboyish filly roared back at the top of her lungs! "It's not like that at all! It's because of you! Because of the fact that you're never around! I missed you both so much, I wanted the kind of love and attention you used to give me before you went away on your adventures, basically dumping me into the care of my aunts. I know your jobs were important, but it felt like you were saying I wasn't!" She didn't even care that the allegations were probably not entirely true. And without waiting for a reply she just bolted, snatching up all the supplies along with her Rainbow Dash plushie and the pajamas as she ran away!
"Scootaloo, wait!" Snap tried to call out to his daughter. "You get your flank back here this instant and tell us where you've been gettin' all this stuff!" But it was no use, Scootaloo had already fled.
Neither parent knew what to make of this situation.
Despite having to lug all those foal supplies with her, Scootaloo kept on running. She didn't really care who saw her so long as she was as far away from her parents as possible. "Why didn't I just move all that stuff somewhere safe until the move?!" She thought to herself as she was running through town, bound for a destination already clear in her mind. "Of course Mom and Dad had to find it all! Of course they wouldn't understand how they caused me to develop the interest in the first place!"
Fortunately, the tomboyish filly had managed to bring a couple of bits with her. When she reached the platform of the Ponyville train station she immediately tossed a few bits to the counter of the ticket window. "One one way ticket to Trottingham, please." She called with her eyes stained red from all the crying she'd done. She didn't want to seem weak or have anypony pity her though, so she'd forced the tears to stop even though all the filly wanted to do was cry.
The ticket pony didn't ask questions, he simply hoofed the ticket to the filly and told her. "The next train will arrive momentarily. And, about your... er... 'baggage'."
"Don't worry, I'm taking everything with me!" Scootaloo declared. "I just didn't have time to pack, that's all."
"Well, alright, but that means if anything gets lost, stolen or damaged we won't be responsible for it." The ticket pony advised.
The train pulled into the station exactly a moment later, and after presenting her ticket to the conductor pony, Scootaloo was allowed onboard. Only once the doors of the train cars closed and the locomotive began to pull away from the station in a cloud of steam, did the filly finally allow herself to relax. She tucked all her supplies underneath her seat and clung tightly to the one thing that wouldn't attract unwanted attention, her Rainbow Dash plushie. "Looks like it's just you and I now, Plushie Dash." She said to the stuffed version of her idol and honorary big sister.
Several stops later, the train arrived at Trottingham Junction and Scootaloo departed with her supplies in tow. The Trottingham countryside surrounding the small junction was absolutely beautiful, she could see why her aunts had chosen to live here.
In fact, that was exactly who the tomboyish filly was going to see. Very few ponies knew about her secret, her aunts chief among them. "They won't be bothered too much if I have to stay with them for a while," She thought to herself. "I'll make sure I'm not much of a burden."
And so it was that Scootaloo made her way to a lovely little cottage atop a small hill. It was where her Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty lived whenever they weren't foalsitting her. She soon reached the front door and raised an orange colored hoof to knock on it.
Aunt Holiday opened the door, soon greeted with the sight of her favorite (and only) niece. "Scootaloo!" She gasped as she brought the filly in for a big hug. "What a nice surprise."
Auntie Lofty then appeared in the doorway as she declared with a wink. "And now I have a surprise for you," She proceeded to unfold a quilt that depicted various cutie marks instantly recognizable to Scootaloo, each belonging to a separate square with the badge that the Crusaders all had in their cutie marks taking up the center. "You know that quilt I was having trouble completing? Well thanks to those wonderful friends of yours I got inspired, I decided to make it Cutie Mark Crusader themed," When Scootaloo sighed the elder pegasus was quick to add. "O-of course it's still a work in progress."
But Scootaloo hung her head. "No, Auntie Lofty. The quilt's great, I love it."
Holiday, suspecting something was wrong, inquired in a worried tone. "What's the matter, Scootaloo? You look like you've been to Tartarus and back."
Lofty then took notice of something with her moderate opal eyes. "Hey, are those your special foal supplies, slugger? I thought we agreed you're not to have them out in public."
Scootaloo had to resist the urge to cry again. She had to be strong. "Well I couldn't keep them at my house any more, not now that Mom and Dad know." She confessed.
Holiday blinked in surprise as she looked across to Lofty. "Little bro's back, and he brought Mane with him? That's odd, nopony told me that. Did you know about this, Lofty?"
Lofty shook her head. "I'm just as in the dark about it as you are, dear."
"Oh, I think the mail pony delivered your letter to my house by mistake. Happens all the time," The tomboyish filly concluded, before she told her aunts. "So Mom and Dad came back, and they told me they're moving to Shire Lanka. Except when they say moving they mean the whole family's moving, me included. I've spent the last few days trying to convince them otherwise, and then when I came home this evening they showed me that they'd found the supplies. They didn't take it very well."
"Did they kick you out, Scootaloo?!" Holiday questioned with worry. "Even if they were upset with you for your secret, they didn't have any right to do that! And I'll see to it that I give them a very stern talking to. I know my brother and his special somepony are better than that."
Scootaloo protested. "No, I ran away from home."
Holiday and Lofty both gasped as Lofty exclaimed! "Slugger, what were you thinking?! Don't you know better by now than to run away from your problems?"
The little pegasus just sadly confessed. "I didn't know what else to do. Mom and Dad got really upset, and I got upset too and I... well I said some things I probably shouldn't have said. I yelled at them for always being on their adventures and not caring about me, even though I know they didn't take me on their adventures because they didn't want me to get hurt. And I know they always made an effort to stay in touch, even if it wasn't the same as having them around," And she then pleaded. "So can I please stay with you two, just for a little while? I can start earning an allowance again or even get a job if I have to."
"I suppose you can stay with us here in Trottingham for a couple of days," Holiday declared. "Lofty and I will have to make some arrangements, but I think we can manage. Make no mistake, though. We're not going to hide you from your parents if they come looking for you, and eventually we're gonna take you back to Ponyville or to Shire Lanka. They're your legal guardians, not Lofty and I despite how often we foalsit you."
As Scootaloo brought her foal supplies into the cottage, she asked. "Well, on the subject of foalsitting, I was wondering if..." She trailed off as she appeared to adopt a set of puppy dog eyes.
"Well, we don't really have a nursery for you and we'll have to get your room set up," Lofty told the tomboyish filly. "And of course, there's the usual house rules: You have to eat whatever Holiday and I feed you, take baths and go to bed when you're told, and of course you have to agree to diaper inspections and potty breaks."
Scootaloo quickly agreed as she gave both her aunts a big hug. "Thank you both so much! I really hate to ask, but right now I just need something, anything really to take my mind off of what's happened over these past few days."
Holiday gave a warm smile to her niece as she led her upstairs. "It's alright, Scootaloo. As long as you understand that you can't do this all the time. Everything's bad in excess."
Back in Ponyville, Snap and Mane were left in a state of disbelief when their daughter up and ran away. They didn't know what to think at first. And by the time the shock of it all had worn off it was already too late, their daughter was gone.
The two followed their daughter's hoofsteps down to the train station, and a quick inquiry of the ticket salespony indicated that she'd already boarded a train out to Trottingham and that the next one wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow at the earliest.
Reluctantly, Snap and Mane realized that they weren't going to get any answers from their daughter about her strange behavior. And they returned to the house that night still trying to process what had happened.
"I just don't get it, hun," Snap Shutter grumbled as they entered the house. "Our only daughter's a bloody bogan. There's just no other explanation I can think of for why she'd wanna dress up like and be treated like some overgrown foal. No way are we gonna start changing diapers again!"
Mane Allgood was more concerned about Scootaloo's absence, especially in light of what the filly had said. "She obviously had to be going to great lengths to keep this secret from us, and probably from other ponies as well. I just wish I knew why. Sure, she's probably missed having us around. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the times when our careers didn't require us to go halfway across Equestria and leave Scootaloo safely in the care of others."
Snap just frowned. "My big sis has always been the maternal type, and it's only increased since she fell in love with and married Lofty. But if she really wanted foals so badly she could always adopt, didn't need her to start treatin' Scoot like a foal instead."
"Honey, we don't know that's why Scootaloo would take up such an interest," Mane cautioned as she let out a sigh. "Look, these past few days have been very stressful for us and for Scootaloo. I know we're upset about the diapers and the other supplies, but we need to figure out why our daughter would ever want any part of all that foalish stuff. It can't just be because of the move."
Snap sighed back as he realized what his wife was implying. "I suppose we're gonna have to postpone the move, and probably say goodbye to that job offerin' that was part of it. We're gonna have to spend some time askin' Scoot's other foalsitters if we're gonna get to the bottom of this."
"I just hope Holiday and Lofty are keeping her safe in the meantime," Mane nervously commented. "Scootaloo is still our daughter, even if this new interest of hers makes it hard to love her."
Sleep didn't come easy to either parent that night, and all the way in Trottingham Scootaloo didn't sleep very well either. Yet all three still did sleep for at least some part of the night.
The next morning dawned sooner than any would've liked even though Scootaloo believed herself to be safe in the care of her aunts for the time being.
Snap and Mane woke bright and early, only barely bothering to compose themselves so they wouldn't seem destitute or overly desperate. They knew of three ponies they would need to ask before the inevitable confrontation with Holiday and Lofty: Rainbow Dash, Rarity and the Cakes.
As fate would have it, Rainbow Dash was already flying overhead when Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood departed the house to look for her. "Oh, it's you two," Rainbow realized almost immediately. "You're Scootaloo's parents, right?"
"Yeah, that's us, mate," Snap nodded as he took off his hat. "Name's Snap Shutter, and this here's my lovely wife Mane Allgood. Ain't she a beaut?"
Mane smiled for a brief moment. "Scootaloo's always been gushing about you in her letters, how you've been like a big sister to her," Her smile faded as she commented. "In fact, that's kind of what we wanted to talk to you about."
Rainbow seemed to flinch and step back. "If this is about the whole Washouts fiasco, I did ultimately step in and save your daughter from blowing herself sky high. And I don't think Lightning Dust is gonna be recruiting any ponies into the Washouts anytime soon."
"Oh no, it ain't about that. We appreciate you bein' there for our daughter when we're not around," Snap commented. "And we're more than happy to have your folks be friends with her and look after her. What we need your help with is something more important. Happened just yesterday."
"The kid's missing, I already know," Rainbow Dash declared as her attitude started to change. "You two were the last to see her, right? Did she tell you where she was going?"
Mane sighed as she explained to her fellow pegasus. "Well, actually, we got into an argument last night after we found out a certain secret of Scootaloo's. One that she obviously wanted to keep hidden from even us, her own parents."
Snap then questioned the brash speedster. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? About a little secret of hers?"
Rainbow shook her head. "No I haven't. Whatever secrets Scoot may have, if it's something I need to know about she'll tell me. I don't make it a habit to pry, that's what her aunts are there for," And she then snorted. "You know, she used to talk about you guys a lot when you weren't here. Even while I still had a delicate relationship with my own parents, I could tell it was really eating the kid up inside. And now I can see why. How can you just come back to Ponyville and demand Scootaloo move away with you?! Don't you have any respect for the roots she's put down here?! You can't possibly expect to pull her away from the town where she's made such a big difference in."
"Look, we realize now that the move to Shire Lanka probably wasn't the best idea. We wanted our family to be together, and Snap and I thought it would work out for all of us," Mane explained. "We'd still get to be adventurers, but Scootaloo would be with us since she's old enough to take care of herself."
"You don't get it, do you?" Rainbow sternly scolded. "Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty can only do so much to fill the void you two left behind when you were off to Celestia knows where on your adventures. And then you come back to town just to tell her she has to move away with you, and she doesn't even get a choice in the matter. What did you honestly think was gonna happen? Good intentions or not, you were letting the kid down."
Snap put his hat over his head as he willingly admitted. "You can be mad at us all you want. We weren't exactly the best parents we could've been. Letters weren't enough to make up for not physically bein' there when our daughter needed us. But right now there's something about her we need to understand. Why she'd even take up such a bizarre interest in the first place."
The brash speedster could only shrug her shoulders. "I can't help you there. Whatever it is I don't know anything about it. I didn't even foalsit her all that much, it was hard to fit into my busy schedule and after I became a Wonderbolt it wasn't like I could just bring her up to the academy to stay with me. Rarity was a foalsitter way more often, especially when Scoot had sleepovers with her friends. Try asking her." And then she flew away.
The adventurer duo made their way over to Carousel Boutique not long after Rainbow had flown away, since they knew this was the most likely place they could talk to Rarity (and also hopefully the most private given what the conversation would likely include).
Rarity greeted her guests at the front door of the boutique with the usual welcome, before realizing who they were. "Scootaloo's parents! Sweetie Belle told me about you two."
"Has she also told you that Scootaloo isn't in Ponyville?" Snap questioned.
Rarity nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. She and Apple Bloom were quite alarmed when Scootaloo didn't show up to their clubhouse this morning," And then she frowned. "I assume you two have something to do with that?"
Mane nodded back as she confessed. "Unfortunately, yes. We got into an argument with our daughter after we discovered an unusual interest of hers, one that she'd been keeping hidden from us."
"We were hoping that you might know more about this.. uh... interest or whatever it is," Snap tried to explain. "Why anypony could take interest in something so... well, I guess foalish will have to do since I can't think of a better way to describe it."
The young fashionista didn't seem to know what the parents knew. "I'm afraid that's rather vague and unhelpful. I may have foalsat for Scootaloo more than a couple of times when her aunts were not available to do so, but if she had any sort of unusual interests or secrets she never shared them with me. And ever since a certain incident with a school paper I've made it a habit not to become too nosy in the affairs of other ponies."
"Then I guess you're not gonna provide us with the answers we're seeking," Snap Shutter glumly remarked. "It feels like we're hittin' dead ends left and right. Like wrestlin' a cragadile that keeps gettin' away before you can wire its mouth shut."
Mane Allgood lamented. "Why are we so good with animals, but so bad with our only child?"
Rarity turned to face the parents as she told them quite firmly. "I wouldn't say you're bad parents, at least not to the extent of a lot of examples I can think of. My parents have basically taken a completely hooves off approach to raising Sweetie Belle, I've had to all but raise herself on my own even when she was still in diapers. And the less said about a certain rich pony's approach to parenting, the better. You two are leagues above such parenting, you at least were responsible enough to leave your daughter in the care of those who could be trusted."
"A lot of good it did us when we could never be there for her. We sure mucked things up when it came to parenting." Snap unhappily sighed.
"What's important is that you regret what you've done, and you want to try to resolve this rough patch you've found yourselves in," Rarity pointed out. "Your jobs as adventure ponies were important, but as parents it's just as important to make time for your children. They're only young once, you know."
Mane reluctantly nodded in agreement. "We never even got to see her get her cutie mark. Our little Scootaloo was growing up, and we missed out on it."
"Still doesn't explain her... er... foalish interest," Snap pondered. "Just don't understand what could drive a pony to seek comfort in things they're far too old for."
Rarity shrugged her hooves. "Again, darlings, I'm afraid I can't really help you on that front. Most of the time I was only foalsitting Scootaloo when she was with her friends and having sleepovers. The few times I foalsat her at her own house, I was never aware that she might be housing any sort of secret. I always told her she could tell me anything and trust me to keep it to myself. She always said she understood, but she never told me anything and I never got the impression that she was trying to hide something. If it wasn't her aunts who were looking after her at her house, it was almost always the Cakes. Try asking them."
Snap and Mane left Carousel Boutique and went straight to Sugarcube Corner. They were quite lucky to find that both Mr. and Mrs. Cake were available and that the sweet shop had only a few customers to tend to. Pinkie Pie was more than happy to take over so that the Cakes could go upstairs to talk with Scootaloo's parents.
"So that's basically what happened," Snap concluded as he finished relaying his account of what had unfolded the night before, though he'd left out some of the more "personal" details. "Haven't seen the kid since. We know she's probably in Trottingham with her aunts, but there's somethin' we're tryin' to understand about her before we have the reunion."
Mrs. Cake asked the two. "And what would that be?"
Mane tried to press for information. "You and your husband were basically watching Scootaloo whenever her aunts couldn't and whenever she wasn't having sleepovers with her friends. Did either of you ever know or suspect that Scootaloo was keeping a secret interest from you?"
Mr. Cake nervously looked at his wife. "Sugar plum, you're more of an expert on these sorts of things. You tell them what we know."
Mrs. Cake was hesitant for a moment, but then she told the two adventurers. "As a mother, you learn how to pick up on certain things. Kind of like a sixth sense of sort. Scootaloo never said anything, but it wasn't hard to get a sense that she might be housing an interest. One that she obviously didn't want to talk about."
"So, what did you do?" Snap pressed further.
Mr. Cake then spoke up. "We ended up stumbling upon it by accident, although we kind of suspected it a lot sooner with the way Scootaloo kept looking at the twins. She'd start smuggling the twins' old foal supplies from time to time, usually just toys they didn't play with anymore."
"The poor dearie was clearly torn up by your constant absence from her life," Mrs. Cake explained. "Seeing how much love and attention our babies got after they were born made her feel jealous. She wanted to have that kind of care and affection too, though even I wouldn't have guessed it ran so deeply."
"Were you the ones who told her aunts? Because they had to have figured it out somehow," Snap commented. "Reckon that's why my sister-in-law made that plush version of Rainbow Dash for my daughter to snuggle with now that I think about it."
The plump baker shook her head from side to side. "We offered to help her keep it in the dark, but she declined. Eventually, we stopped catching her stealing any sort of supplies from the twins. And I know their old diapers couldn't have fit her. She probably told Holiday and Lofty on her own terms, Holiday in particular strikes me as the type of pony who never pries unless she absolutely has to."
"So it's all because she wants to feel loved and cared for?" Mane realized. "It seems rather odd to ask for attention in such a way."
Mr. Cake commented. "Well, it's probably different for different ponies. Cup Cake and I don't really know much about it beyond what Scootaloo told us. If you ask me though, Scootaloo doesn't just want your love and affection. And she doesn't just want you to care about her either. She wants you to accept that secret side of her, even if that's hard to do."
"You mean, just accept that she likes to dress up like and act like a foal? Seems like a pretty hard thing to accept," Snap frowned anew. "Don't know if we can do that, at least not fully. Right now though, we just want our daughter back so we can hopefully try to work things out."
"Well, that all depends on how Scootaloo feels," Mrs. Cake advised. "It's going to take more than just words to convince her that you're ready to admit to your mistakes. And it's going to take more than just words for her to believe you're going to try to accept the secret side of her."
Armed with the knowledge they had gained and a realization about the role their parenting had played in driving their only daughter to seek refuge and comfort, Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood boarded a train bound for Trottingham the very day when they had originally planned to be leaving with Scootaloo for Shire Lanka.
It was funny how life worked sometimes.
Meanwhile in Trottingham, Scootaloo had long since been padded up. In fact, she was wearing nothing but a diaper while she sat in a special chair that had been modified specifically for when she was in her current state. It was basically a make-shift high chair (which was Wonderbolt designed with blue and yellow stripes) that even had a bar that could be swung open or shut. It was also high off the ground and made her bottom sink more into her diaper, causing it to compress and crinkle audibly.
Scootaloo delighted in poking at her diaper with a hoof from time to time to make it crinkle anew, giggling with delight every time she did so. Her Rainbow Dash plushie rested nearby, gazing at her while the filly had a bib with pink hearts tied around her neck by her Auntie Lofty. "Don't need you making a mess on me, slugger. Especially not after that little surprise you gave Holiday and I this morning."
Scootaloo blushed as she gave a cute, foalish response. "It was an accident, Auntie Lofty. I was going to use the potty, honest."
"It's alright, what matters is that you're nice and clean now, and you're going to stay that way," Aunt Holiday declared as she trotted over with several jars of different flavored foal food on a small tray. "I went down to the local foal store this morning to make sure Lofty and I are all stocked up."
Lofty then cooed. "Now, Scootaloo, if you eat everything without making too much of a mess or causing too much of a fuss, I'll let you have some cookies. And wait 'til you see the new blanket I'm sewing for you, you're gonna love it!"
The tomboyish diapered filly smiled as she then eagerly opened her mouth in anticipation of the savory flavors about to greet her taste buds. She just hoped Mashed Peas wouldn't be on the menu, she always hated those even though her aunts insisted they were necessary for a 'growing filly' to get her nutrition.
Holiday brought the tray close and then sat down in the chair next to Scootaloo's make-shift high chair, unscrewing the lid of the first jar and dipping a plastic spoon into the mush. "Okay, Scootaloo. Here comes the Canterlot Express." The plump earth pony cooed while making train noises.
Scootaloo let the spoon be deposited on her tongue, savoring the taste as the colored mush slowly made its way downward.
The process repeated itself multiple times with differing spoon feeding gestures from Holiday, yet the filly fully cooperated and didn't make a mess. She even remembered to say "Excuse Me" when she let out a burp near the end.
At last, the jars were empty and Holiday moved the tray away. "Well done, Scootaloo. You kept your bib clean." She patted the filly on the head.
Lofty smiled. "Well, a deal's a deal, slugger," Then she proposed. "But you can't have cookies without milk. Would you like me to make you a bottle to wash down your cookies?"
Scootaloo nodded. "Baba!" She declared in a foalish tone of voice.
"Okay then, one nice, warm bottle of milk coming right up! Just stay there." Lofty instructed as she went to go make a bottle of formula mixed with regular milk for taste. Heating up the offered bottle.
The bottle was ready a short time later, and several chocolate chip cookies that had been freshly baked by Lofty were put on a plate to go alongside said bottle. The diapered filly immediately began devouring the cookies, causing crumbs to pile up everywhere on the plate. Once done, she moved for her bottle only to find herself being unlatched from her high chair and brought into her Aunt Holiday's loving embrace.
Holiday plopped onto a couch and held Scootaloo's head up, as she plopped the bottle into her niece’s mouth and cooed in encouragement. "Go on, Scootaloo. Drink it all up. I know you're thirsty."
Scootaloo didn't need to be told twice. She wrapped her hooves around the bottle's rubber nipple and began to suckle. She was soon rewarded for her efforts as warm, creamy milk worked its way down her throat. It was times like this that truly made her feel little and without a care in the world.
All good things must come to an end, however. The bottle was eventually drained all the way, and Scootaloo felt nice and full as she had her back patted by Aunt Holiday. The filly letting out a belch almost on cue. "Excuse me." She said again, pretending to be embarrassed.
"You're excused," Holiday declared before she got a closer look at her niece's face. "My goodness, you really chowed down on those cookies!"
Lofty grinned. "What can I say? I'm a whiz in the kitchen! Nopony bakes the way I do!"
Holiday untied Scootaloo's bib as she retrieved a wet rag, using it to wipe down Scootaloo's face so there were no traces of crumbs. "Alright then," She declared as she set her diapered niece down on the floor. "Let's get you into those hoofie pajamas you love so much. And then you're going to take a nice little nap."
"Aw, but Aunt Holiday, I'm not tired." Scootaloo protested.
The plump earth pony mare just smiled. "Well, you can just cuddle up on the couch with Lofty and I until you do fall asleep. And when you wake up, maybe I'll let you do some hoof painting. No painting on the walls though."
Scootaloo was soon dressed from head to hooves in the cyan colored pajamas that felt snug around her body. She especially loved how the back of them bulged out due to her diaper. It had a comfy embrace around her rump that seemed to relax her into a state of bliss. It felt even better once the rear was zipped shut as her rump felt the full embrace of her diaper.
However, as the filly was brought back down from her bedroom following the dressing, there came a knock at the front door. Scootaloo instinctively went to hide upstairs, unwilling to let anypony besides her aunts see her in her current foalish state.
Only once Scootaloo was safely out of sight did Holiday and Lofty both trot to the front door to answer it. To their surprise, Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood stood on the other side. "Little brother. And I see you brought your wife too," Holiday innocently greeted. "To what do Lofty and I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit? Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to move Shire Lanka?"
"We've had to call off the move," Mane Allgood explained. "We're looking for Scootaloo. We know she's here."
Snap Shutter added. "And we know what she's been up to with you two. We know about her little secret, though it ain't really a secret anymore."
Lofty protested. "Then you know why the kid never told you about it. So why don't you two just mind your own business and go back to your adventures? Scootaloo's safe with us. Holiday and I have made sure her secret stays a secret."
Holiday put up a hoof to block her special somepony. "Lofty, there's no need to cause a fuss. Let's at least hear what my brother and his special somepony have to say. We owe them that much for letting us be Scootaloo's foalsitters in the first place."
"We really need to talk to Scootaloo if you don't mind." Mane pleaded as she and Snap entered the cottage.
Snap promptly called out. "Scoot, if you can hear us, you'd better come out right now. And don't bother tryin' to hide your diaper either, or anything else for that matter. You know we're no drongos."
Scootaloo slowly waddled out from hiding, her hoofie pajamas and their obvious diaper bulge doing little to conceal the tell tale crinkles that broke through the silence. She still had her Rainbow Dash plushie clutched tightly in her hooves, and it was clear to all that she was still far from confident about the situation despite the tone of voice that had been used. "Um... hello." She greeted, unsure of what else to say.
Snap cleared his throat to speak up first. "Now Scoot, there's a lot we need to discuss. But you should know before we begin that your mum and I aren't here to make you move to Shire Lanka with us. In fact, the whole move's been called off."
Scootaloo's grayish-purple eyes widened in surprise! "No way! You really mean it?!"
Mane nodded as she motioned for her daughter to come closer. "Your father and I have come to the realization that the way we've been raising you has caused some... issues. We may have had good intentions in leaving you in Ponyville while we went off on adventures, but somewhere along the line I think we let our work get in the way of quality family time."
"That's what caused ya to start developin' this uh... interest of yours," Snap explained. "Personally, your mum and I still don't think it's right. But we've come to realize that it's a part of you and that it ain't somethin' we can force you to give up. You're not harmin' anypony by doin' what you do, and you're still able to function as a growing filly when you need to."
"O...kay?" Scootaloo replied as she blinked slowly. She was certain this had to be a dream even though it felt so real.
Looking her daughter square in the eyes and lowering herself to her daughter's level, Mane declared. "We know you didn't mean to yell at us that night when your secret was discovered, and we probably shouldn't have raised our voice at you before giving you a chance to explain. Just because we may not accept what that secret involves doesn't mean we don't still love you."
"It's because of that love that your mum and I have taken up jobs in Ponyville that aren't as exciting," Snap told Scootaloo. "It'll still give us plenty to discover, there's lots of places around town that could benefit from the knowledge we have on exotic plants and animals. And it'll be interesting to see how much the town's changed since we last left it all those years ago. But we'll be able to spend more time watching you grow up, and your aunts won't have to constantly come and foalsit you."
Reluctantly, the tomboyish filly then questioned her parents. "So, does this mean that you're going to... well, you know?"
"Not quite, Scootaloo," Mane cautioned. "We aren't going to make you give up your diapers or any of your foal supplies. But there are going to be some changes, and your father and I aren't going to indulge you as your caretakers. If your aunts want to do that on their own time, that's fine."
Snap proceeded to lay out the terms. "If you wanna keep doin' this, Scoot, you're gonna have to agree to a couple of things. You're gonna have to pay for all your... er... supplies on your own."
Holiday pointed out. "Well actually, as she is still a minor she can't legally have access to any adult foal stuff. Lofty and I could agree to sign off for her, and deliver the supplies to you if you'd like."
"Well, Scootaloo will still have to pay for 'em either way," Snap explained. "They're her supplies so she can pay for them."
Mane then added. "You obviously can only do it around the house, and not when we have guests or when you go to sleepovers with your friends. That is, unless you want everypony to know you wear diapers."
Scootaloo gulped at the idea. "Nah, I don't think I'd feel comfortable telling anypony else, not even my fellow Crusaders. They'd think I'm weird."
"Then the diapers stay inside the house and only while it's just us three around," Snap agreed. "That brings up the next point, actually. You're wearing your diapers and obviously... well, I don't think I need to say it. But if you're gonna be doing that you're not asking your mum or I to change you, you'll have to do it yourself, same goes for taking care of the evidence."
"And while we will agree to tuck you into bed or occasionally heat you up a bottle, that's as far as we're willing to go in caring for you while you're wearing your... you know whats," Mane declared. "Also, your father and I reserve the right to change the terms or ask you to stop at any point if we think it's becoming an unhealthy or destructive habit for you."
Snap finished the proposal. "So, whaddya say, Scoot? Deal?"
Scootaloo didn't answer right away, she needed time to think about all of this. It sounded too good to be true, despite the fact that her parents hadn't fully come around and were drawing the line at taking care of her like an actual foal.
"It's your decision, Scootaloo," Holiday pointed out to her niece. "You don't have to say yes if you'd rather this just be something you, Lofty and I do."
Lofty added. "Although we may have to limit the amount of changes you can have, can't be going through diapers too often."
But the tomboyish filly didn't immediately reply to that offer either.
Snap and Mane prepared to leave. "It's alright if you need time to think about it, Scootaloo," Mane reassured her daughter. "Snap and I will be waiting in Ponyville whenever you're ready to come back. And you can just send us word letting us know what you wanna do with your secret."
"Come on, hun," Snap advised as the two headed for the front door. "We can't stay here all day. Gotta be at the train station to catch the next train back to Ponyville. Don't need to be taking advantage of my big sis' hospitality."
Yet neither parent had taken more than five steps at most before Scootaloo came running up to them, hugging them tightly. "I think I'm willing to agree to your terms. I've already pretty much gotten used to changing myself, but Auntie Lofty always insists on doing it for me."
"Just don't need you getting a rash, slugger." Lofty pointed out.
"And you're willing to forgive us for not being there for you like we should've?" Snap asked his daughter. "You have every right to be mad at your mum and I for that."
But Scootaloo replied. "I could never be mad with you guys, honest. I know your jobs were important and that you couldn't take me with you. I just wish you'd have asked me about moving to Shire Lanka before dropping the bombshell on me."
Mane promised. "Trust us, Scootaloo. We won't make that mistake again. From now on, decisions that affect the family will be discussed with all members, you included."
Snap then advised. "But if you're comin' back with us, mate, you might wanna get changed."
The tomboyish filly stepped back and blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? I haven't had an accident, and I'm pretty sure there's bathrooms on the train."
"He means your wardrobe, Scootaloo," Mane explained as she gestured a hoof. "At least you should take off the diaper. We'll make sure the rest of your supplies are loaded up discreetly."
"Oh, right," Scootaloo realized as she blushed. "Guess I've just gotten so used to wearing diapers that it's almost like second nature to me. Just give me a few minutes and I'll change and pack up." And she went away to do just that.
