Rainbow Dash had been searching the land for hours since she had first heard of Scootaloo's disappearance. She was a nervous wreck.

They had checked everywhere. The Library was the last place she was headed, yet Twilight and Spike hadn't seen her... nor had anypony in town. Search parties had formed, leaving no stone unturned, while Rainbow Dash searched in her own way -- frantically scouring over every nook and cranny of Ponyville. Dash had forgotten to eat lunch the first day and was quick to forget dinner. She was close to losing her breakfast... at least what she hadn't burned in the search.

All of her friends were concerned as well. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were out (with their sisters) calling her name, only to have silence be their answer. It was as if Scootaloo had simply vanished.

The search went on for weeks, weeks turned into months, and still no sign of the filly. Celestia had put bulletins out throughout her kingdom, bulletins seen by her kidnappers who knew that meant the ponies who loved her were running out of ideas. It appeared they had won.

The first week Scootaloo was almost completely comatose. Buttercup spent a total of eight hours each day with her -- feeding her, playing with her, and, of course, changing her. The filly only whimpered in humiliation during changes, but in days even that faded. It became a routine during which she was completely silent, but by the end of the week... once Ironhoof approached with a syringe, she had a different reaction:

"No! Please! Don't!"

Tears began to stream down her face, but that didn't matter. She was given the injection all the same, in her right shoulder. It hurt, but that was only part of why Scootaloo got scared -- she didn't know what it was, and she was told nothing. Within minutes the world was wonderful and wiggly, just as Ironhoof had hinted at the first night, and minutes after that.... once her conscious thought had finally faded away, she was released and taken upstairs... to the bathroom. Everything swayed before her eyes.

Scootaloo wouldn't remember much, but she could remembered three things from her first trip:

First, she would remember how big, cold, and empty Buttercup's house was. Second, she remembered how warm the bathroom was as she was stripped down... its distinct smell of foal shampoo. As her body made contact with the warm water she began to urinate like a foal... Buttercup was there to tell her "it's okay," not that she noticed. Buttercup gave her a very playful bath, stepping inside to bathe with her, and seeing Buttercup's full figure was the last thing that Scootaloo could recall for sure... her cutie mark, a simple cup of warm tea. She giggled and laughed as she was bathed, snuggling in to her "Mommy's" warm embrace towards the end of bath time as the bubbles made a pseudo-womb around her. She didn't know it, but she was already responding to the name Honey, at least with this substance inside of her.

Another week went by, Scootaloo now making brief eye-contact with Buttercup. At the end of the next bath, Ironhoof touched up her coat colorings. This dye he made could at least outlast a bath or two, but it couldn't outlast the quickness of pony hair growth. They had to keep up appearances -- for Buttercup's sake and his own -- ... in the unlikely event should Scootaloo ever be seen.

Third week Scootaloo was smiling and moving her body to help with feeding and changing times. This wasn't merely opening her lips or raising her legs on command... her mouth looked hungry as she was being fed, and Buttercup no longer needed to tell her to raise her backside. For bath time Ironhoof gave Scootaloo no more sedative than he had before. She sat towards the end of the bath, snuggling with her "Mommy" again on top of the mare's large, round tummy. It was then that Scootaloo surprised Buttercup:

The mare looked down, snuggling against her Honey in the warm bath. She felt warmth against her bosom, along with saliva... then she felt her Honey begin to suck on her teat. With no thoughts in her mind, Scootaloo did what came naturally. It seemed right... and actually tasted pretty good -- a natural flavor, sweet... one Scootaloo had never actually had the chance to enjoy.

"Good girl!" Buttercup exclaimed, now shouting through the closed bathroom door. "Ironhoof! Honey's suckling! She's finally doing it!"

"Wonderful," said Ironhoof. "I knew she would eventually."

"Drink all you want, sweetie! I've got plenty in store!"

Of course Scootaloo wouldn't remember this, but it was a sign that eventually (if Buttercup and Ironhoof kept at it), "Honey" might not need her medicine to make her cares go away. It wasn't even a month of being a foal... mares took longer (much, much longer) , and required bigger, more expensive diapers and bottles generally from pharmacies and fetish stores. A filly could be more easily fed from baby's items... the only thing Scootaloo needed in her actual size for now was youth diapers and the simple shirts Buttercup liked to put her foals in. There wasn't a onesie that could easily fit Scootaloo quite yet, but that wasn't to say she wouldn't eventually grow into those bought at the specialty shops, away in the far back of the Canterlot plazas.

Buttercup was content. Honey had just been suckling on her teat in her bedroom, sedatives coursing through her veins. She was now put to rest by Ironhoof, downstairs... asleep or soon to be. It had been months since the mare had had any moody spells, or even a bout of depression. Iron Hoof noticed this, but remained silent... why make her aware that she's happy, and not just let her be that way, seeing the glow in her eyes instead? It's far more genuine. Ironhoof was happy because she was happy.

It was nearing midnight when Buttercup called the Butler into her bedroom.

"You called?"

"Ironhoof..." Buttercup sat up in her bed. "Would you please come here?"

He did as he was asked, standing at the side of her bed... waiting for a command, like a robot.

Buttercup smiled:

"She's perfect, you know."

"I know. I'm glad you're happy."

"I want to thank you, Ironhoof. Anything I have is yours." She laid back in bed. "Just ask."

"Seeing that you're happy is enough, Mistress."

"Ironhoof, please call me Buttercup. I've known you for over twenty years!" The mare sighed, then looked up. "Ironhoof... would you like to retire from serving me?"

"I wouldn't dream of it. You'll need my help caring for her, after all, Miss Buttercup."

"I know. I was thinking you can still be here... just different."

He looked at her... quizzically. He said nothing, so she continued:

"I'm happy with you, Ironhoof... I'm happy with all you've done for me." She sat up and beamed a genuine grin, to which he couldn't help but smile back. This was fifteen years ago Buttercup. "I want you as an equal. Won't you take my hoof and be with me?"

"Is this what you want?" Ironhoof couldn't help the smirk at the thought. "To be with me? I can find you a better partner, if you want a stallion."

"I want you. Come to bed with me... live with me, as you always have. We'll be happy."

"We are happy now, are we not?"

She smirked:

"Let's make love."

Ironhoof's eyebrows almost went to his hairline. The last time Buttercup had a stallion... Honey was created. He was fine with another, another he could kill... but himself? He looked into her blue eyes to be sure it was what she wanted. He saw his own reflection and the truth:

"You are sure."

Buttercup didn't need to nod. She knew it wasn't a question.

Ironhoof pulled the blanket aside and got under the covers with Buttercup. She turned off the lights and that was that, Ironhoof was no longer her Butler. He had planted the seeds of happiness in her, replacing the rain and emptiness, and she invited him to share in that happiness. He had spent so long serving her that it was all he did, but now... he would still serve her, but not as a servant. He loved her and she loved him. Each brought the other happiness, and as Scootaloo slept in their basement... drifting memories of her past life in and out of her mind... they would relish over what they now had: her, finally as what they wanted, and each other.

Eight months after Scootaloo's disappearance friends were sad, but they had moved on. All Ponyville had moved on, too... even most of the Elements had. All but one.

Rainbow Dash was now working with Applejack. She had lost her job with the Weather Patrol... something about requesting too many days off to look for a lost filly that she could never find. Her co-workers cared at first, but after a while it seemed dismal and hopeless. That was the real reason she was fired -- Rainbow Dash had become depressing to be around. All the loyalty she felt eaten up by somepony who had just one day ceased to be. Applejack took her in and since they were working together, they now had all the time in the world to spend together... well, Applejack was ready and willing to give Rainbow as much of her time as she could, but when Dash wasn't at work she was out looking for Scootaloo. Only seldom did Dash stop and spend time with Applejack, and that was only after Applejack persuaded her to take a break... and after drinking one or two of Buttercup's relaxing beverages.

Ironhoof was there to record her downfall, a different character each afternoon, always a photographer taking pictures of the trees and the farm ponies hard at work. Big Mac approached him one day and commented:

"The Acres sure are growin' popular! Any chance of us seein' the magazine these are for?"

"My partner has to be happy with what she sees first," replied Ironhoof in disguise. "Then I'll stop coming and with luck we'll publish the magazine if it goes through. We've already celebrated an unofficial engagement, so with my luck she'll like what she sees and we can finally put this to rest. It's my one final project, so you'd better believe I want to get it right."

"While Ah can respect your gumption, that's a terrible way to run a business. Waitin' on some high-up's approval to do something."

Ironhoof glared back at him:

"She is my partner, not my superior. We have to both be happy with the job for it to be complete."

Big Mac put his hooves up:

"Fair enough... Ah didn't mean nothin' by it."

Ironhoof smiled at the stallion.

He continued to take pictures of the farm for weeks, then months. Together they watched Rainbow Dash as she slowly grew more and more thin, and more and more withered. Buttercup grinned looking at these pictures over tea in her home with Ironhoof, "Honey" nearby. The two sat close. If it wasn't for the love Buttercup felt, she might've fed Scootaloo to her dogs at this point, because she saw Rainbow Dash was truly suffering. Scootaloo had long stopped being an effigy for her to torture. Her feelings for the filly were sincere as they could get and she was on the top of the world... with her aging Special Somepony there to enjoy the ride with her.

Nearly a year later, while the filly still required a little sedation to do so, at the end of each bath, Scootaloo would drink her fill... and because the amount of sedative had become less and less, her memory retained this all too well. He mind objected, but her body welcomed it (as with soiling). Eventually it would all become second nature. She would someday forget what it felt like to ride her scooter, the wind blowing through her mane, she would forget independence, her friends... she was already plumper than when first taken, would get plumper still on her new diet.