Scootaloo sighed, leaning back in her chair at the table. Dinner with her parents had become an increasingly common occurrence ever since they had turned down that job offer in Shire Lanka, due to a discovery that they had made involving their only daughter: Namely the fact that she was what was known as a teen foal, a term given to those ponies not yet full grown adults but who longed to be little foals.

There was so much about it, an entire mindset that often accompanied Scootaloo dressing the part. And dress she did, often wearing a special set of hoofie pajamas styled after Rainbow Dash. They had extra room in the back via a zipper, which was specifically to accommodate the thing that the tomboyish pegasus had desired the most: Diapers. They were of a special Silly Filly brand sized up for ponies her age and even came with custom prints (they were also super crinkly, and puffy often pushing Scootaloo's legs apart whenever she wore them).

While it was true that both Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood had come around to "accepting" this was a part of their daughter, it wasn't necessarily something they were one hundred percent comfortable with. They always did their best to play it off, but Scootaloo could tell that they were mostly onboard with it for her sake.

But they were still her parents, and that meant both Snap and Mane could tell when something was troubling their daughter. This was no exception. Mane Allgood in particular was taking notice of her daughter's slouched posture, how she seemed to be distracted by other thoughts. "Honey, is something wrong?" She innocently inquired of Scootaloo. "You haven't really touched your dinner. And I made it, so you know it's good."

Snap Shutter looked up, seemingly to briefly sniff the air. "You don't need to be changed, do you, mate? You've been pretty good about keeping your..." He coughed into a hoof. "You know whats clean."

"I know, and it's not anything to do with that," Scootaloo replied as she let out a sigh, sitting up slowly while she listened to the crinkles from underneath her rump as she shifted her weight about on her diaper. "I was just... thinking about something, or someponies."

"Mate, did we do something wrong?" Snap pondered with concern. "This has been a learnin' experience for us all, just like it was when you were an actual foal."

Mane was quick to encourage. "If there's anything we haven't been doing right, we can try to work on it," She then got up from the table and trotted over to her daughter. "We want you to feel okay. We're trying our best to be more supportive of you now. But we can't do that if you won't tell us what's wrong."

The padded pegasus filly shook her head from side to side. "It's nothing about you, Mom or Dad. You've both been pretty good caretakers," She explained, looking both parents deep in the eyes. "It means a lot that you've been doing what you've been doing for me. But..." She trailed off, looking down at her concealed padding as her body language seemed to shift ever so slightly.

"But what, Scootaloo?" Snap questioned.

Reluctantly deciding there was nio sense "beating around the bush" as it were, Scootaloo sighed again as she explained to her parents. "I've been thinking about my fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders: You know, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?"

Mane smiled and nodded. "Oh yes, they're very wonderful friends, Scootaloo."

Snap added with a nod of his own. "Reckon you couldn't have asked for a better group of friends if you tried, Scoot. That little club you three put together is quite fascinating. Kind of reminds me of all those after school clubs I used to try out for when I was your age. That's kind of how I met your mum."

The filly turned teen foal just went on explaining. "But I haven't told them about any of this," She gestured a hoof to her current state of appearance. "I've never worn any of this stuff to any of our sleepovers, and I've always made sure to hide the supplies whenever they've come over here for visits," She seemed to shudder a bit before adding. "But I feel like I have to tell them. I feel like I've been keeping a part of myself hidden from them because of this. And yet... well... we all know how you guys reacted when you found out."

The memories of the unfortunate discovery almost a year ago were still fresh in the minds of both parents. Both could well remember how upset they had been to learn about Scootaloo's interest, and the exchanges that had played out which had been less than ideal.

"I'm worried that it might be the same thing with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo went on to say. "Considering you guys took a long time to come around to it, I don't wanna risk permanently strain our friendships because of something like this. It's got me all torn up inside! A part of me wants to tell them, but another part of me doesn't!"

For a moment, Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood remained silent as they took in the information. Neither of them were sure they knew what to say to reassure their daughter. But at last, Mane Allgood decided to speak up. "Scootaloo, it's not our place to say how your friends will react. If you ask me, they seem like the understanding bunch."

Snap Shutter added. "Reckon they can't be much worse then when your mum and I found out about your secret," He took off his hat and held it over his chest. "Still can't believe that caused such a rift between us. Feared we might have driven you away from us for good. Of course, we had to learn the hard way that what we'd been doin' had kind of contributed to those feelings ya had, mate."

Mane stood next to her husband and smiled. "Exactly, Snap. But when we saw what you were like while in the care of your Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, we slowly started to realize that it was a part of who you were. We learned to accept it."

"Do you think my friends will be the same?" Scootaloo asked. "And how should I go about telling them if I do decide to do it?"

Snap only replied. "Mate, I reckon that's for you to decide. It's like tryin' to approach a rare creature for study. Sometimes, there's no easy solution or approach and you have to play it by ear."

Mane then encouraged. "But we can discuss this more after dinner. For now, let's focus on that. After all," She said with a wink. "You wanna grow up big and strong like your father and I, don't you, Scoot?"

Scootaloo gave a bit of a foalish giggle as her pampers crinkled audibly. It was always funny when her parents slipped into the caretaker roleplaying to satisfy her "little" self. "Yeah, I do. And your cooking always rocks, Mom! You make the best hayburgers!"

"Crikey! Then let's stop talkin' and start eatin', mates!" Snap eagerly proclaimed! "Don't know 'bout the rest of you lot, but I'm starvin'!"

And so it was that dinner resumed and the conversation was momentarily lost to time.

After dinner, Scootaloo enjoyed a nice, hot bath as she prepared for bed. It was a bubble bath, a special mixture courtesy of her Aunt Holiday. She always liked to use it whenever she really wanted to feel like a little one, relaxed and cared for.

Of course, the bath couldn't last forever and Scootaloo eventually had to get out and dry herself off. That was something her parents had been quite insistent on her having to do on her own.

A short time later, the tomboyish filly exited the bathroom all padded up and ready for a good night's sleep. As she did so, she could overhear her father call. "Everything go okay in there, mate? You didn't have any problems with the potty monster again? After all, they say foals are its favorite meal."

"Aw come on, Dad! I'm not that little!" The tomboyish filly snickered in reply. "Everypony knows there's no such thing as a potty monster. If there was, you and Mom would've discovered it."

"Well I seem to remember how much you used to be afraid of it when we were first potty training you," Mane Allgood commented as she came upon her daughter in her diapered state. "Perhaps that should've told us something about what you were going to be like. But at the time we just thought that meant you were going to become a brave adventurer like us."

The padded pegasus just gave a yawn as she made her way over to her bedroom. "Well, you weren't wrong. I am brave. Asking Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty to help me get all these supplies was certainly an adventure. At first I had to start smuggling them in in secret because I wasn't sure my aunts would approve."

Snap Shutter was waiting in the bedroom for his daughter. "But they did, and ultimately so did your mum and I," He paused briefly to inspect the diaper, relieved to find it clean. "Just makin' sure, mate. Don't need you gettin' a diaper rash on us now, do we?"

Scootaloo giggled again even while she yawned. "No we certainly don't."

Snap smiled. "Exactly," He proceeded to bend down and carefully pick his daughter up, slipping her into her Rainbow Dash themed hoofie pajamas and making sure to zip up the back. Then he carefully inserted a matching light blue colored pacifier into his daughter's mouth, before gently depositing her onto her bed.

Mane proceeded to pull the sheets up to Scootaloo's head so that she would be nice and snug. Then she bent down and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep tight, my little Crinkleloo." She softly spoke, before she and her husband proceeded gently to the bedroom door and turned out the light.

Scootaloo tossed and turned in her bed, something just didn't seem right. What was it? What was troubling her so much that it wouldn't leave her alone?

Suddenly, the filly found herself wide awake and standing in the clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Was it her imagination, or did it seem like she had brought more than she should've for a friendly meeting? It sure felt like it considering how heavy her saddlebags were.

All of a sudden, Scootaloo saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle surrounding her not unlike hungry birds circling their prey. "What? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?" She inquired of her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders.

But neither Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle seemed to be acknowledging the presence of their friend. They instead seemed to be fixating on something else given how they were both sniffing the air. "Hey, you smell that, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom could be heard saying.

Sweetie Belle nodded as she pressed her nose to the ground. "I sure do, Apple Bloom. Something smells... funny. Not like a 'ha ha' funny, more like a 'interesting' funny."

The farm filly was quick to add. "Yeah, and I reckon it's comin' from right here!" She quickly pointed a hoof at Scootaloo, causing the pegasus to back up!

"H-hold on! I can't smell anything!" Scootaloo nervously insisted as a few beads of sweat began to work their way down her face. "Maybe somepony didn't open a window or something?" However, when she tried to move she instead found her saddlebags spilling open as though they had a mind of their own! Out onto the floor tumbled a whole bunch of foal supplies: Foal toys, hoofie pajamas, a pacifier, foal powder, rash cream, scented wet wipes and of course several packages worth of Silly Filly brand diapers! All there on the floor for all to see!

"Wait a minute!" Sweetie Belle seemed to realize! "Scootaloo, are all these things...yours?"

The tomboyish filly flinched and froze up, it was upon realization that her foal supplies were out in the open suddenly unable to speak. She didn't even know what she could or should say.

Apple Bloom seemed to take the liberty of speaking for her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader as she declared with narrowed eyes. "I can't believe this, Scootaloo! You seriously mean to tell us that you're no better than a helpless little foal?!"

Sweetie Belle was quick to add. "This isn't natural. This isn't you. The Scootaloo we know would never have such an interest," Then she sniffed the air again and gagged. "Ugh! I think the little diaper baby just had an accident! Right in front of us no less!"

Scootaloo looked down in horror to see a noticeable puddle had appeared underneath her! She eeped, swishing her tail in a vain attempt to stop what was happening. "No! No!" She cried over and over again! "Please, just make this stop!"

But Apple Bloom only replied by popping the pacifier into Scootaloo's mouth, effectively silencing her. "I reckon we've heard quite enough out of you, Stinkaloo!" She coldly declared while looking across to Sweetie Belle. "We don't have room for cry baby potty pants foals like you in the Cutie Mark Crusaders! As of this moment, you're a Cutie Mark Crusader no longer."

"Nooooooooooooo!" Scootaloo dramatically shouted as her eyes went wide with horror, even as she felt her body start to shrink in size! Why was this happening to her?! By now she found herself powerless to stop the water works from flowing.

Then, just as sudden as it had all started, it stopped! The clubhouse and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle disappeared, dissolving completely into a mist. Scootaloo found herself back to her normal size, a great relief to the frightened filly.

It took only another minute or so for Princess Luna to appear, quickly comforting the shaken up young one before her. "Looks like you're in need of my help once again, Scootaloo." She told the tomboyish filly in as gentle a tone of voice as she could.

Scootaloo wiped a lone tear from her eyes. "So, do you know about my..." She blushed, looking down at herself. "You know whats?"

The princess of the night firmly nodded. "Indeed I do, Scootaloo. It is not hard to notice when one's mind starts to drift to such things. You are not the only one to seek comfort in what others would consider foalish. Rest assured, I am not here to judge you for what you choose to do of your own free will," After pausing for a moment she added. "But I am here to help you overcome what has caused this nightmare. For if not, it will not be a one off thing."

The tomboyish filly let out a sigh. "I've been thinking about my friends lately, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Also, I think about... the diapers and other foalish stuff. I... I want to tell them... but..." Again she found herself trailing off, lacking the courage to say the rest.

The princess of the moon quickly summed up the situation. "Such a decision is important and never easy. But it's something that must be done if you're to overcome these problems before they get out of hoof," She then smiled. "I would be more than happy to accompany you via the dream realm, allow you to visit your friends tonight and gauge their thoughts. I will not be available to help you during the day. That part will be up to you."

"Thanks, but it wouldn't be the same doing it in a dream as it would be doing it in the waking world," Scootaloo insisted. "If I'm gonna tell them, I want to tell them myself, on my own terms. But thanks anyway for the offer. It means a lot."

Princess Luna nodded again, bowing briefly as she gave a salute. "It is my pleasure, Scootaloo. I wish you the best of luck. Regardless of the outcome, you have my support.." She then departed almost as quickly as she had arrived.

The padded pegasus woke up a short time later, gathering her thoughts as she lay in her bed. "I'll tell them tomorrow as soon as I can!" She thought to herself! "The time has come! I can delay it no longer!" But as she moved to lay back down and go back to sleep, she felt her padding move and squish around her rump. The filly sniffed the air as a familiar scent reached her nostrils. She was sure it could only mean one thing, and a quick inspection of her padding as she sat up confirmed it.

Sleep would have to wait.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were most surprised to be called over to Scootaloo's house the next day, and not for a Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting either. All they knew was that their friend had something very important she wished to share with them. That's what little they had been told, what little they had to go on.

When the two fillies reached the front door, they were surprised to be greeted not by Scootaloo herself but by her parents: Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood. "Oh, you're here already?" Snap commented. "Well, that's good. That means Scoot can get down to bizzo with you two."

Mane added with a smile. "She's really made up her mind fast about this. It's definitely improved her mood compared to yesterday," And she ushered the fillies inside. "Scootaloo will be waiting for you in her bedroom."

"Okay, thanks a bunch," Sweetie Belle nodded as she and Apple Bloom headed down to said bedroom. As they did, Sweetie looked across to her fellow filly and asked her. "What do you suppose Scootaloo wants to talk with us about?"

The farm filly blinked and replied. "Hay if I know. It could be anythin,'' She then commented. "But come to think of it, even after her parents didn't move to Shire Lanka, she's been actin' kind of off somedays. Almost as if she wants to be somewhere else."

Sweetie blinked, looking rather confused. "Huh, I noticed that too. What do you suppose that's all about?"

Apple Bloom just replied as they reached the door to Scootaloo's bedroom, finding it locked. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out," She reached out a hoof and knocked on the door. "Scootaloo, you there? You said you wanted to talk to us?"

There came the sounds of rustling and crinkling from the other side of the door, as if the tomboyish filly on the other side was struggling to move (or maybe even remove) something. But it soon passed as she moved to open the bedroom door and called out. "Come on in."

So Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did so, suspecting nothing out of the ordinary despite what they had just heard. But upon entering, the two fillies immediately became aware of a scent that was unmistakable to them. It was a scent they were used to from their many visits to Sugarcube Corner when the Cake Twins were younger. It was the scent of cornstarch, mixed with a hint of lavender along with a lingering smell of urine.

And any doubts either of the two might have had were erased for good when they saw Scootaloo standing before them, displaying an unmistakable object to them: A thick, white poofy diaper with special prints that resembled Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. Resting nearby was a matching pair of hoofie pajamas that were also styled after Rainbow Dash.

"Hey girls." Scootaloo greeted, seemingly unconcerned by her state of appearance.

A tense, awkward and uncomfortable silence filled the bedroom as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stared, slowly blinking in uncertainty.

Scootaloo opted to break the silence and the ice. "This is all mine," She declared, gesturing a hoof to the diaper and to the pajamas. "And that's not all I have."

"You mean, you have more?!" Sweetie Belle gasped in shock!

Apple Bloom even added! "You mean to tell us that you're just a big old foal?!"

The tomboyish filly nodded, waddling over as her diaper crinkled audibly for all to hear. She soon bent down beneath her, pulling out a box containing all her foal supplies and bringing it out into the open. "Teen foal, actually," She explained. "That's what they call ponies like me."

Sweetie slowly blinked. "I guess this explains your unusual behavior," And she asked. "How long have you... had this...um, interest?"

Scootaloo scrunched the diaper between her legs feeling rather nervous as she explained to the best of her ability. "I'm not sure when. At first it just seemed to come on when my parents started being away a lot. But I wasn't sure what it was. It took me a really long time to realize that I wanted all of this: To dress up like and act like a foal again. And even to be cared for by someone else."

Sweetie Belle quickly moved to change the subject. "You know, you look kind of cute when you're like this, Scootaloo," She declared as she trotted up and booped her fellow filly on the nose. "How did you even get all this stuff though?"

"Most of it is through my aunts," Scootaloo explained as she giggled, sitting down as her diaper crinkled anew and she was feeling excited. "Especially the diapers. Thick pampers like these are really hard to obtain normally, so my aunts had to pull a few strings. Since I'm a minor, I can't buy these things myself. That's what they've always told me."

Apple Bloom was looking downward and rubbed a hoof on the ground as she inquired. "Do your parents know? I would assume it'd be hard to keep them out of the loop."

The tomboyish filly slowly nodded. "Yeah. I didn't really plan on having them find out but they did anyway," She nervously massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "Let's just say they didn't take it very well at first. It took a lot to even get them to be okay with this. I'm honestly surprised they've agreed to be my caretakers at all."

"Well, they seem pretty okay with it now," Apple Bloom commented. "I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. This is definitely... weird."

Sweetie just added with a sincere smile. "I think it's weird in a good way. It seems pretty harmless," And she looked at Scootaloo. "You're still the same Scootaloo we know and love, right?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, that hasn't changed even though I like to be like this. It's just so relaxing," She started to relax a little, letting the tension of her legs between the padding ease she told her fellow Crusaders. "I'm not asking for you to be a part of this. I'm not gonna start attending our meetings in diapers or anything like that. I remember the time we tried to be diaper changers, that didn't go so well." That got all three fillies to laugh heartily.

Apple Bloom then declared. "Well, as long as you ain't gonna be doin' stuff like that and give us a little heads up when you're uh... you know," She coughed into a hoof very briefly. "I reckon maybe it won't be entirely bad."

"Yeah," The tomboyish filly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a massive weight be lifted from her shoulders. "I was so worried this might drive us apart."

But Apple Bloom only firmly vowed! "You kiddin'?! You really think somethin' like this would break up the Cutie Mark Crusaders?! When we said 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Forever', we meant it! That's not somethin' that's gonna be broken, even by somethin' like this."

Those words went a long way towards reassuring Scootaloo that she had nothing to worry about. Even her closest friends were at least okay with her secret, and that was all that she needed. She would definitely be sleeping better tonight.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle then stayed for longer than Scootaloo would've thought after her confession. They were particularly astounded to witness her being actually babied by her parents.

"Alright, my little Crinkleloo," Mane Allgood declared as she brought over a baby bottle full of warm milk. "It's time for your bottle."

Snap Shutter added. "And then I reckon it's time for you to take a nap like a good little foal," He came trotting into the room with a bright smile. "Don't worry, your bed will be all nice and snug, waitin' for ya."

Scootaloo happily accepted the bottle, though not before looking at her friends. "Uh, you girls might wanna get going now. I tend to be a pretty heavy sleeper during my naps."

"Okay," Sweetie Belle agreed as she looked across to Apple Bloom. "We'll just see you around, Crinkeloo... I mean, Scootaloo…"

Apple Bloom slowly nodded. "Uh, yeah, what she said." And the two fillies departed without saying another word.

As for the tomboyish filly, she soon found herself shutting her eyes and drifting off to dreamland as the rich, refreshing taste of the warm milk worked its way slowly down her throat. All her worries melted away, in that moment nothing else mattered. She felt safe and secure, confident that her secret wouldn't cost her the friendships she valued so dearly.