Fluttershy always tended to be an early riser, part of it had to do with her career path, but another part of her had always been one to wake up with the sun even before she knew she was going to do with her life.
Instantly, Fluttershy's thoughts turned to her padded friend, likely still sleeping away in the nursery. "Dashie tends to wake up early anyway," She thought to herself. "At the least I should check on her and make sure everything's okay. That's what all good mommies do."
And so, Fluttershy gingerly trotted through her cottage, carefully pushing back the leaves that concealed the secret nursery. With a smile that matched the glow of the rising sun, she made her way inside and over to the crib where sure enough, there was Rainbow Dash already awake.
"Good mowning Mommy Fwuttwshy." Rainbow Dash lisped, smacking her lips.
"Good morning, Dashie," Fluttershy cooed in a motherly tone. Then suddenly, a foul smell reached her nostrils. It was a smell the pegasus was very familiar with. Looking at her padded friend, Fluttershy could smell the source of the stench was coming from her. And that could mean only one thing! "Um, Dashie?" Fluttershy nervously asked.
"What is it, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked in reply, seemingly unaware of the sour note lingering in the air.
"Did... did you..." Fluttershy gulped before she added. "Use your diaper?"
"Oh," Rainbow realized, finally appearing to become aware of the strong smell of manure. "I guess I kind of did," She blushed. "Oops."
Fluttershy sighed, while using her wings to try and fan the smell away from her. Taking a deep breath, she commented. "Well, I guess I should've expected this eventually. I was going to give you a bath anyway, but we'd better get you cleaned up right away. I don't need my baby getting a nasty diapee rash." She cooed.
"Yeah, that would be bad," Rainbow sheepishly replied, and then apologized. "Sorry about the smell, I didn't think it would be that bad."
"It's fine, Dashie," Fluttershy replied, helping her friend out of the crib. "You're okay with me calling you that, right?"
Rainbow nodded, as she stood on the floor of the nursery. "Yeah, I mean it's far from the worst thing I've been called. And we've known each other long enough to where it doesn't bother me," But then she added. "Just, don't ever call me that in public, it's embarrassing."
"Whatever you say, Dashie," Fluttershy cooed, holding out a hoof. "Now come on, baby. We need to get you out of that dirty diaper."
The cyan speedster accepted the hoof of her butter yellow coated friend, and let said friend lead her through the nursery. Soon, she was laying down on the changing table, while Fluttershy prepared herself for the task ahead.
"Okay, Fluttershy, you can do this!" Fluttershy mentally reassured herself. "You've changed plenty of stinky diapers before, this won't be any different. Just imagine you're taking care of a baby animal." And then she grasped the tabs on Rainbow's diaper, carefully undoing them as she let the used diaper fall from her friend's waist. "Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed, quickly tossing the stink bomb into the nearby wastebasket with expert aim. She then took out some lavender scented wet wipes, and carefully went back and forth, cleaning her friend's coat. A task that was easier said than done when her baby kept wiggling about. "Dashie, you need to hold still!" Fluttershy demanded.
"Sorry, Mommy Fluttershy, but the wipes are so cold." Rainbow apologized.
"I know they are, my little pony," Fluttershy softly cooed. "But the more you struggle, the longer this will take," Then an idea came to her. "You'd better hold still," She warned. "Or else I'll have to give you 'The Stare'."
That did the trick, Rainbow held perfectly still after that. In a matter of minutes, the wiping job was complete and Fluttershy had tossed the used wipes into the wastebasket. "I need to go run this outside really quick," She told Dashie, as she pressed down on a pedal and scooped up the bag wrapped around the wastebasket. "Don't go anywhere, okay baby?"
Rainbow gave what appeared to be a nod, and Fluttershy took that as a sign that she could trust her friend to do as she was told. Fluttershy quickly zoomed out to the back of the cottage, carefully digging a hole near some flowers as she set the dirty diaper inside it and then covered it up. "It's a good thing Applejack told me about how she used to use Apple Bloom's dirty diapers to help grow crops. I just hope I'm doing this right." She thought, as she then disposed of the wet wipes and came back inside and washed her hooves. Then she zipped back to the nursery.
Dashie had gotten down from the changing table, but otherwise she hadn't moved an inch, much to Fluttershy's relief. "Okay, baby," Fluttershy cooed yet again. "It's time for your bath, and after that little 'surprise' you left for me I think you need it."
"Yeah, don't need to smell like a dirty diaper, that'll raise too many questions." Rainbow agreed (though she knew she also probably smelled pretty bad anyway with how sweaty she tended to get during the course of an average day).
Fluttershy escorted her rainbow maned friend to the bathroom, leaning over the side of the tub as she turned the knob and warm water started to flow. She turned to see Dashie, sitting obediently on the tiled floor. Then, an idea came to Fluttershy's mind. "Say, Dashie? Would you like a bubble bath? My parents would always give me those when I was younger."
"Sure, a bubble bath sounds good. Fits the whole foal theme." Rainbow replied, and turned her attention away from the tub that was slowly but surely filling up with water.
"Alright, one bubble bath coming right up," Fluttershy winked, as she trotted over to the cabinets beneath the sink, opened them up, and pushed aside the various toiletries and bathing products until she at last found what she was looking for. A baby pink and blue colored bottle labeled Sudsy's Bath Time Fun Mix, she carried towards the tub, unscrewed the cap, and carefully poured a small portion of the solution into said cap which was then poured into the tub. Bubbles started to form seconds later. "There we go, a nice warm bubble bath for my precious little angel," Fluttershy smiled and turned around. "Alright, Dashie, now let's..." But Dashie was no longer sitting on the tiled floor.
Fluttershy was wondering where her friend could've scooted off to, when she heard the sound of a toilet flushing and turned her attention to the porcelain throne that rested near the other end of the bathroom. Sure enough, Rainbow stood next to it, giggling as her hooves rested on the silver handle. "Hehe, water go down the hole!" She giggled in foalish delight. "Water come back!"
Fluttershy cleared her throat, attracting Dashie's attention. "Now, Dashie, the toilet is not a toy," She lightly scolded. "It is only for big ponies to make pee pees and poo poos in. Or, is my baby telling me she has to go potty? I don't want her to have an accident in my tub."
"No, I'm good Mommy Fluttershy," Rainbow babbled. "You just changed me, remember?"
"I know, but a baby's bladder and bowels can be unpredictable sometimes," Fluttershy cautioned. "But if you're sure you don't have to go, then that's fine." She put the lid of the toilet down and lightly dragged Dashie back towards the tub. By this point, the water and bubbles had almost filled it all the way to the top. Turning off the knob, Fluttershy carefully lowered Dashie into the bubbly water, having taken the liberty of putting down a few towels before hoof.
Rainbow leaned back in the tub, before her eyes caught sight of a rubber duck and she slowly swam toward it, grabbed it, and caused it to give out a squeak.
"Alright, Dashie," Fluttershy spoke up, commanding attention. "Ready for Mommy to get you all nice and squeaky clean?"
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded, then squeaked her rubber duck again.
Fluttershy worked swiftly to clean her foal, making sure to scrub underneath her wings (which had attracted a lot of dirt and grime), and especially Dashie's hoofsies.
Rainbow squeaked almost as loud as the rubber duck she'd been playing with! "Fluttershy, you know I don't like ponies touching my hooves!" She complained, before she giggled. "You know I'm extreme ticklish down there."
"Sorry, Dashie," Fluttershy apologized. "But I need to clean them, and babies certainly can't bathe themselves. I promise I'll try to spend as little time as possible on them."
Rainbow sighed, but reluctantly obliged. As much as she wouldn't admit it, her hooves had been getting awfully grimy lately. Fortunately, Fluttershy was true to her word and scrubbed all four hooves clean faster than Rainbow could've ever managed on her own. After working in a bit of mane shampoo and rinsing, Fluttershy let her foal splash about and play in the tub for a bit, before she lifted the cyan coated pegasus out and let her drip on the pre-placed towels. Then Fluttershy pulled the plug and drained the tub, before she rubbed her friend dry. "There we go, all nice and clean," She cooed, patting her baby on the head. "Come on, let's get you padded before you have to go again."
Dashie was escorted back to the nursery and placed upon the changing table, her nostrils soon picking up the scent of cornstarch as she looked down and saw Fluttershy sprinkling foal powder on her rump. Then, Fluttershy slid a new diaper under her friend's rump and carefully taped it up, before she let Dashie slide off the changing table and gave the diaper a few firm pats to be sure it was on snugly. Just then, both pegasi heard Rainbow's stomach growl loudly.
"Guess it's feeding time," Fluttershy declared in a motherly tone of voice, once again taking Dashie by the hoof. "Let's see what delicious num-nums are on the menu for my baby today."
Leading Dashie into the kitchen, Fluttershy helped her friend into the high chair and latched the bar shut. Then, much to her foal's surprise, Fluttershy opted to tie a bib around Dashie's neck. "I forgot to put this on you last night at dinner," She explained to her foal. "I don't want you to get all messy after I just gave you a bath."
Rainbow sighed, she was too hungry to complain. She just sat in the high chair and kicked her legs, as she waited for whatever sort of delicious food her mommy Fluttershy was going to offer her. The cyan speedster didn't have to wait long, for soon she had a big bowl of oatmeal placed before her, steam rising from it to indicate just how hot it was.
"I hope you don't mind, I added in some honey and strawberries," Fluttershy commented, dipping a spoon into the bowl. "Now, open wide for the aeroplane."
Rainbow complied, knowing that she wouldn't be allowed to feed herself, especially not hot oatmeal that she could possibly spill on herself.
Fluttershy went through a variety of spoon feeding gestures, as the bowl of oatmeal was slowly depleted. All the while, Dashie just licked her lips and said, "Mmm, yum yum." after each spoonful entered her mouth.
Pretty soon, breakfast was over and the bowl was empty. Dashie knew what was coming next, and sure enough she was taken out of her high chair and placed on her mommy's lap. Right on cue, she let out a great big "Urp!". "Good baby." Fluttershy cooed, and set her foal down for just a minute, before she slipped the pink mittens onto Dashie's hooves.
Returning to the nursery, Rainbow planted her padded poofy posture precisely on the floor with a plop. She then grabbed the custom made Wonderbolts plushie she'd been given last night, and started playing with it a little. But suddenly, a realization struck the speedster like a bolt of lightning, and she gasped! "Oh my gosh, I totally forgot!"
"What is it, baby?" Fluttershy asked, worried that something was wrong.
"I made plans to do things with other ponies today, because I didn't know I was gonna spend my days off from the Wonderbolts padded up at your place," Rainbow explained, and frantically started to panic. "Starlight's gonna want me to help her fly kites today, since I was supposed to do it yesterday but ran out of time. And I promised Scootaloo I'd give her some flight lessons over the weekend. I can't do any of that while I'm like this, my reputation will be ruined forever!"
"Oh come now, Dashie, I'm sure they'd understand," Fluttershy insisted. "Besides, you could always wear something to cover it up, like maybe your Wonderbolts flight suit?"
Rainbow shook her head. "Since when have I ever worn clothes in public when I don't need to? That'll just make it even more obvious I have something to hide. Besides, I think my flight suit would just make my diaper stick out even more, or rip a hole in it. And how would I explain that to Spitfire?"
"What if I got Twilight to give me something that could cover up your diaper?" Fluttershy suggested. "I'm pretty sure Twilight wouldn't tell anypony your secret."
"No way am I letting that egghead know, she'll tease me to no end I just know it!" Rainbow protested. "There's absolutely no way I'm going out in public while diapered. And I can't just take it off, the powder will take forever to wash off!" Crawling over to Fluttershy, she shot her friend her best pair of puppy dog eyes and pleaded. "Can you please cover for me? Tell them I'm sick or something and that I'll be staying at your place until I recover, that way they won't freak out if they check my place and don't see me there. I'll make this up to you, I promise."
Fluttershy tried her hardest, but she just couldn't bring herself to say no to such a cute face. "Alright, Dashie, I suppose I can do that," She reluctantly agreed. "But I think sooner or later you're gonna have to tell them the truth, I can't cover for you forever."
"I know, Fluttershy, I know," Rainbow nodded, then she added. "Oh, and while you're out, could you check on Tank and make sure he's doing okay? You'll probably need to feed him and clean his cage, but otherwise he should be good."
"Would you like me to bring him here so he can be with you?" Fluttershy offered. "I think Tank would like knowing his master is nearby."
"You can bring him down here if you'd like," Rainbow replied in agreement. "At least I know he's not gonna be able to tell anypony."
"Alright then, Dashie," Fluttershy agreed. "I'll take care of Tank after I clear up your arrangements with Starlight and Scootaloo, I'll just tell them you're sick with the flu and I was vaccinated against it, and that you'll be staying at my place until you feel better. Just be sure to stay inside the cottage, and if anypony comes to the door while I'm gone don't answer it."
"Relax, Fluttershy, it's not like I'm gonna burn your house down while you're away," Rainbow teased. "I'll be fine by myself. Now go!"
Fluttershy looked back at Dashie for a second, before she said to her baby. "Alright, but stay out of trouble. I should be back within an hour to an hour and a half, hopefully." And then she left her cyan coated friend to her own devices and trotted out the front door. "I hope Dashie behaves herself and doesn't act like too much of a foal," Fluttershy thought to herself. "I can't help but feel like I forgot to do something important though."
Pretty soon, Fluttershy was out in town, marveling at the wonderful sights, sounds, and smells. It was the middle of Summer and Ponyville was as peaceful as it had ever been. All of this was enough to push that nagging thought to the back of Fluttershy's mind, it couldn't be that important or else she wouldn't have forgotten to do it.
"Alright, I'll stop at Twilight's castle first, then Scootaloo's house, and then I'll probably fly up to Dashie's place and pick up Tank," Fluttershy thought to herself. "Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll bump into Scootaloo and her friends while they're helping somepony with a cutie mark problem, and I won't have to go all the way to Scootaloo's place to talk to her."
But Fluttershy was focusing so much on these thoughts, that she forgot to watch where she was going. She bumped straight into Mrs. Cake, who was pushing a light pink colored foal buggy, currently occupied by her twin toddlers. "Oh, hello Fluttershy," Mrs. Cake greeted with a warm smile. "Lovely day, isn't it?"
"Huh? Oh, yes yes, of course." Fluttershy hastily replied, snapping herself back to reality.
"Is something the matter, Fluttershy? You seem a bit distracted," Mrs. Cake commented, as she sniffed the air. "And why do you smell of cornstarch and lavender?"
"What do you mean? I don't smell anything," Fluttershy nervously insisted. "Maybe it's just the twins."
"They don't wear diapers very often anymore, Fluttershy. And I know it's not them, I changed them this morning," Mrs. Cake said with a shake of her head. "I know those kinds of smells, being a mother means you learn to pick up on certain smells. Have you been caring for any new baby animals, recently?"
"Baby animals?" Fluttershy commented in a confused tone, before a light bulb went off in her head and she quickly added. "Oh, yes! Now that you mention it, I've... um... been taking care of a baby... a baby um..." She scratched her head, trying to think of an animal that tended to have its babies around this time of year. "Giraffe!" She quickly answered. "Yes, a baby giraffe!"
Mrs. Cake seemed a bit surprised at Fluttershy's response. "Oh, I didn't know giraffes tended to have their offspring around this time of year. I thought Spring was usually the time for baby animals to be born."
"Well, for most animals, yes," Fluttershy nodded. "But um, this giraffe was different. The mommy gave birth just yesterday, and I've been helping her raise it. Since its legs are still weak, I've had to diaper it so it doesn't hurt itself when it falls down. I guess I just got so caught up in caring for it, that I forgot to wash off after I put it down for a nap. And that's why you can smell the cornstarch and lavender on me." She tried to keep a straight face throughout her statement, hoping to keep Mrs. Cake from suspecting something.
Mrs. Cake appeared to buy Fluttershy's "reason" and she simply replied with a coo. "Aw, that's so motherly of you, Fluttershy. You know, I think you'd be an excellent mother. You seem to know what babies need and how they work. If you ever need anything for that little giraffe, be it diapers, bottles, or toys, just let me know."
"Thanks, Mrs. Cake, I will." Fluttershy replied, and fluttered off.
Mrs. Cake turned her attention back to her twins, and resumed pushing the foal buggy along. But she couldn't help but think about Fluttershy's strange behavior. "She sure seemed to be uneasy when talking about that baby giraffe," She thought to herself. "Did she perhaps secretly have a foal without telling anypony and is too embarrassed to admit it? I don't even think I've seen her dating, unless she's been seeing somepony in secret."
Fluttershy flew straight to Twilight's castle, knocking on the front door which was answered by Starlight. "Oh, hey Fluttershy," Starlight greeted. "Where's Rainbow Dash? She never showed up for kite flying yesterday, and Maud was too busy collecting rocks for her rock garden. I was hoping Rainbow Dash would be available for kite flying today, but when I went up to her house there was nopony there."
"Well, that's why I came here to talk to you," Fluttershy replied, making sure to keep a straight tone of voice. "Dash... I mean Rainbow Dash is sick with the flu."
"You mean the feather flu?" Starlight asked Fluttershy.
Fluttershy shook her head. "No, just the regular flu. It's not a particularly strong case, but it does leave her feeling a bit disoriented. She came down with it last night, and now she's staying at my place until she feels better."
"But won't you get sick too?" Starlight wondered.
"Oh no, I always make sure to get vaccinated against the flu each year," Fluttershy explained. "That way I don't have to worry about infecting any of my animal friends in case what I have is contagious. I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash won't be able to fly kites with you today, or tomorrow, maybe not even the day after tomorrow."
"Oh," Starlight unhappily sighed. "Well, that's alright. Guess I'll just see if somepony else wants to fly kites with me today. Maybe Pinkie Pie will be available, or maybe Maud will finally be done with her rock garden and will have some free time," Then she added. "Tell Rainbow Dash not to worry, we can fly kites whenever she's feeling better."
Fluttershy nodded. "I'll do that. Thanks for understanding, Starlight." And then she set off for Scootaloo's house. "I can't believe I almost said Dashie to Starlight," Fluttershy thought to herself. "I've got to stay focused, I don't need anypony suspecting anything. Rainbow Dash is trusting me to keep this all a secret!"
Although it was a bit of a journey, Fluttershy managed to get from Twilight's castle to Scootaloo's house in a reasonable amount of time. As luck would have it, she landed on the ground, just as Scootaloo came zipping past on her scooter.
Upon seeing Fluttershy, Scootaloo hit the brakes and slowly turned around to face the animal loving pegasus. "Hi, Fluttershy!" The filly greeted, removing her helmet and clutching it with a hoof. "Have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere? She's supposed to give me flying lessons today, I can't wait!"
Fluttershy sighed, as she told Scootaloo in an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, Scootaloo, but Rainbow Dash is sick."
"Oh no, that's horrible!" Scootaloo exclaimed with a gasp. "What's she sick with? Is it contagious?"
Fluttershy nodded. "It's very contagious, at least for ponies. She has the flu, not the feather flu mind you, just the regular flu. Rainbow Dash is staying at my place until she feels better, she certainly isn't in any condition to be flying."
"Aw man, that stinks!" Scootaloo complained, kicking the dirt with a hoof. "But wait, if she's contagious then how come you haven't gotten sick too?"
"That's because I'm vaccinated, I always get the latest flu shot whenever it becomes available," Fluttershy told Scootaloo. "But I don't think you've had all your shots."
"Actually I have, even if I really don't like getting them," Scootaloo winced. "Can I please come over and see Rainbow Dash? I wanna let her know I'm not mad that she had to cancel my flying lessons because she got sick."
But Fluttershy firmly shook her head. "I can do that for you, Scootaloo. You wouldn't want Rainbow Dash to come see you while you were sick in bed, would you?"
Scootaloo paused, she hadn't thought of that. "Well, I guess when you put it that way, no I wouldn't," Her mood perked up though, as she then proclaimed. "That's okay, I can always ask my parents to teach me. I'm sure they can give me a few pointers. Besides, I didn't have that much free time today anyway. Crusader business, you know how it is. Sometimes you find a cutie mark problem, and sometimes it finds you." And with that, the filly put her helmet back on and zipped away!
"Well, that worked out better than expected," Fluttershy thought, as she watched Scootaloo disappear in an orange colored blur. "Now to just check on and pick up Tank, and then I can spend the rest of my day caring for my little Dashie. I just hope she's doing okay on her own."
Fluttershy stopped at Rainbow's cloud house and after making sure everything was in order, she checked on Tank. The tortoise apparently was just now noticing that his pegasus owner was gone and wasn't coming back anytime soon. He was glad to see Fluttershy though, if the smile he gave her was any indication.
"Hello, Tank," Fluttershy greeted, as she examined his cage. A little bit of straw had been disturbed, but other than that the cage was in pristine condition. "You're hungry, aren't you?" She asked the tortoise. "Don't worry, I'll get you some tasty veggies to munch on." And she did just that.
Once Tank had been fed, Fluttershy made sure to check all the doors and windows in Rainbow Dash's house, as well as ensured that there were no left over foal supplies hanging around where prying eyes might spot them. When all that was done, she picked up the leash, carefully let Tank out of his cage, and fastened both the leash and his magic powered propeller. "Alright, Tank, let's take you to Dashie," She cooed, leading the tortoise carefully out the front door. "I know she'll be glad to see you."
Fluttershy couldn't fly as fast as she had been flying now that Tank was in tow, but fortunately it was still a pretty straightforward and short path back to her cottage. Touching down lightly on the ground, she trotted up the small dirt path to her cottage's front door, and retrieved the secret key hidden under the doormat that read "WELCOME" in large letters.
"Dashie, I'm back!" Fluttershy called, as she stepped inside the cottage, Tank hovering in a second later. But there was no reply, Fluttershy had been expecting Dashie to come crawling over to her the instant she returned. But the cyan speedster was nowhere to be seen.
"Hm, that's strange. Where could Dashie have wondered off to? I told her not to leave the cottage." Fluttershy thought to herself, as she first led Tank to the living room and carefully removed his leash and propeller (she didn't want the tortoise to fly around and bump into things that could fall and break), then started her search for her baby.
"Dashie. Dashie." Fluttershy called, but there was still no reply. She trotted down the hall, heading towards the secret nursery as she concluded that was the most likely place for her cyan coated friend to be. But Dashie wasn't in the nursery and to make matters worse, when Fluttershy trotted across the hall and checked the bathroom, she found that the toilet had clogged up and was overflowing. "I must've forgotten to lock the bathroom door!" Fluttershy realized. "I knew I was forgetting something!"
But the clogged toilet could wait, right now it was important for Fluttershy to find Dashie and make sure she was okay. "Dashie, where are you?" Fluttershy called out, sounding a bit more like a worried parent searching for their lost child. "If you're hiding because you clogged the toilet and flooded the bathroom, it's okay, I already know. I'm not mad." Yet there was still no reply.
Now Fluttershy was becoming anxious! Surely her friend hadn't broken her promise and wandered off outside, especially not into the scary Everfree Forest! But perhaps that's where her friend had run off to after clogging up the toilet? "Dashie. Dashie. Dashie, please, this isn't funny anymore!" Fluttershy demanded. "Wherever you are, please come out!"
It was then the pegasus' ears picked up what sounded like a faint cry, coming from the kitchen. The cry sounded almost exactly like Dashie. "Dashie?" Fluttershy called again, as she made her way to the kitchen. Sure enough, there was the diapered pegasus.
Rainbow lay sprawled out on the kitchen floor, her legs clearly spread apart by her diaper that had a noticeable yellow stain on it. Next to her was a small, wooden step stool, and above her was an opened cupboard containing a jar of cookies. It seemed obvious to Fluttershy what had transpired in her absence. But just what had motivated Dashie to clog up the toilet, and try to retrieve a cookie jar using a step stool?
