Filthy Rich walked up the stairs of his mansion, heading for one of the many guest room. He stopped just outside it as a maid, an Earth Pony with a yellow coat, green mane and tail, her Cutie Mark covered by her uniform, stepped out, closing the door behind her.

“How is she?” he asked, though he didn’t need her sad shake of a head to answer. He could hear the sobs and the sound of his daughter trying to comfort the sobbing filly inside.

It had happened two weeks ago. He had been sitting in his office, going over the figures of the last year. His business with the Apple Family was something he always thanked Celestia that his grandfather had made the business joint with their families, because, thanks to that, his profits were up 8% since the previous year.

He had just gone over the margins of his Manehatten business branch, thankful that the fire that had been in the papers had not damaged his store there, when the doors to his office banged open, causing him to jump, scattering his papers everything.

“Diamond, what are you—?” he began sternly, but his voice was cut off by the look on his daughter’s face. It was one of sadness and horror.

“Silvy and her family were in Manehatten!” she said, her voice making it obvious she was close to crying. “Wh-what if they—? What if Silvy was—?”

Rich, realizing what his daughter was implying, rushed from his seat to her and wrapped her in as comforting an embrace as he could. “Don’t worry, honey,” he said, rubbing her back as she quietly sobbed into him. “We’ll find her.”

And they had done just that. He’d booked a train to Manehatten for both of them and headed for the city that evening. It had taken a few days, but they eventually found Silver Spoon, cold, scared and heartbroken in one of the shelters made for those affected by the fire.

It had taken a bit of convincing the authorities, but he eventually got the clearance to take Silver Spoon back to Ponyille with them. However, after they’d returned, Silver had remained in the guest room he’d told her she could stay in, not coming out for anything, using the inbuilt bathroom for her toiletry needs.

Rich sighed as he turned and headed back towards his office. He had the feeling he shouldn’t go in there. His daughter was the only one closest to Silver Spoon now and the only one likely to comfort her.

Diamond rubbed the back of her sobbing friend, sadness in her own heart at her inability to help her friend when she needed it the most.

She knew only in part her sorrow, having never felt love from her own mother, who now under a restraining order and gone after her father found out what had happened the day the CMC got their Cutie Marks. However, their sorrows were very different. The sadness Diamond felt for her mother was nothing to the sadness Silver felt; to the loss of losing both her loving parents in a horrible event. She wasn't sure how she'd feel if she lost her father, but was certain it would be about the same.

From what she’d learned on their way to Manehatten to get Silver and during their search for her, only a few ponies had lost their lives, four at the most. Diamond hadn’t really paid attention to the other ponies, only Silver’s family. She had been relieved when she learned that of the four who had lost their lives, Silver had not been one of them.

There had been many injured, but she had paid them no mind, her attention only on finding Silver Spoon. Now her attention was focused on trying to make her feel better, though was unsure how.

She blinked, looking up. She could’ve sworn, for a second, that there was a flash of light in the closet.

She got up, walked over to it and opened the doors. What she saw confused her. It was just a plain, old brown box, with a note stuck to the top.

Picking it up, she opened it and read what was written there.

“Put these on and all your worries with go away.”

She blinked, turning the note over, thinking there had to be something else written on it, but finding nothing.

Frowning in confusion, she put the note aside and opened the box. What she saw confused her even further. Two filly sized diapers with a smiling face on the front.

She couldn’t understand. Why would a pair of diapers be in her home, in Silver Spoon’s room? Not only that but, then that weird note?
She looked at it again and reread it.

“Put these on and all your worries with go away.”

For a second, she didn’t understand, before she remembered the games she and Silvy would play, back before they’d gotten their Cutie Marks. Sometimes they’d play house, with either of them being the mother, while the other wore a diaper and pretended to be a foal. And, sometimes, they’d both put on diapers and pretend to be sisters.

She sighed whistlefully. Those had been the days, when neither of us had had to worry about our popularity, making sure ponies knew how important we were... She gave a small smile. Maybe it would be nice to do that, at least one more time.

She picked up the diapers and saw that, underneath them was foal powder and diaper cream. Whoever had left these knew how they’d liked playing the game back then.

Probably Daddy, she thought, placing the diapers back in the box and started pushing the box towards the bed. Or many one of the maids. Star Song always knew about it, even played with us a few times.

When the box was in front of Silver, she looked up at her friend, smiling. “Silvy?”

The sobbing filly’s sobs lessened a little, and looked to her friend, then at the box.

“Wanna play?” Diamond asked softly, a kind smile (something most ponies thought she couldn’t show) on her face.

Silver sniffled a few times, wiped her eyes, then gave the tiniest of smiles and nodded.

It took a little time, it always had in the past, but they managed to get their diapers on after powdering them and putting on the cream, ensuring they wouldn’t get a rash.

They both sat on the bed, their diapers crinkling as they sat down. They remained silent for a few moments, not sure where to go from there. They hadn’t done this in a while and were trying to remember what to do next.

Suddenly, Silver’s eyes drifted down to her left hoof. Diamond would’ve ignored it, passing it off eyes her eyes just wandering, but then Silver’s eyes kept glancing down at her hoof several more times.

“Silvy?” she asked, cocking her head. “What’s up?”

Silver shook her head, confusion on her face. “I’m not... sure.” She lifted her hoof, staring at it with an intensity that made Diamond slightly worried. “I keep getting this weird thought that... my hoof looks like it would taste nice.”

Diamond stared, her shock dispelling the errant thought that had just entered her own head. “Silvy! You wanna eat your own hoof?! You wanna eat meat?!”

Silver looked at Diamond, disgust passing over her face. “What? No! Ew! I meant I... wanna... suck on it.”

Diamond blinked. Silver wanted to suck on her hoof, like a real foal would?

That was stupid. They were grown up now, they had their Cutie Marks. Sucking hooves was something only foals... would... do...

She found her eyes drifting down to her own right hoof and heard a thought pass through her head. Would her hoof taste nice?

She shook her head, trying to dispel this thought. She wasn’t a foal. Only foals suck their hooves. If the CMC heard about this, sure they were all now friends, but she shuddered to think how long Scootaloo would use this against her. Just because Silver was sucking her hoof, it didn’t mean she—

She blinked, before her eyes widened. Silver Spoon was sucking on her hoof, but it wasn’t that which shocked her. It was the blissful smile on her face as she was doing it.

Her brain stopped, trying to understand why Silver Spoon was sucking her hoof and, more importantly, why she was smiling like that as she did so.

So shocked and focused on Silver Spoon was she, she didn’t notice her own hoof slowly lifting to her own mouth, not until she felt herself sucking on it.

Her first instinct was to yank her hoof out, but, as she tried, her foreleg wouldn’t respond, remaining where it was, leaving her hoof in her mouth.

As Diamond tried to will her foreleg to move, she started to notice that sucking on her hoof felt rather relaxing. It felt... nice. What was more, she’d expected it to feel embarrassing, shameful even, that she was doing something only foals were known for doing, but... she didn’t. In fact, she felt... happy.

Well, maybe I’ll suck on it for a little while, she thought, looking at Silver Spoon, who had closed her eyes. Silvy seems okay with it, and it’s not like either of us are going to tell anypony anyway.

So she crawled over to Silver Spoon on three legs (her brain only trying to question for a second why she was crawling instead of walking), settled down next to Silver Spoon and let her eyes close.

For several minutes the two friends just lay there, suckling on their hooves and, as the ease sucking on their hooves was giving them lulled them to sleep, neither noticed as their bodies started to grow smaller and smaller.

Filthy Rich paused outside Silver Spoon’s room, leaning his head against the door. It had been a few hours since he’d left it, leaving his daughter to comfort the distraught filly as best she could, being the only one who could.

He’d fully intended to wait at least until dinner time, however, his concerns had gotten the best of him and here he was, standing outside the room, listening to the sounds coming from within. Or, lack there of, as the case would be.

He couldn’t hear anything from within the room. Had Diamond gotten Silver to calm down? Was Silver maybe just sleeping and Diamond was sitting by her friend’s side, making sure she had a peaceful sleep?

His curiosity getting the better of him, Rich opened the door and peaked inside. At first, glancing around the room, he couldn’t see either of the two fillies. But, as his eyes fell on the bed, he saw the two of them cuddled up next to each other, sleeping soundly.

She must have fallen asleep herself, he thought wryly, walking towards the bed with the fall intent of waking the girls. Dinner would be in a few minutes and he wanted to make sure they were awake enough to enjoy it, just as much as they seemed to enjoy sucking on their hooves—

Rich stopped, his eyes wide as he looked down at the two ponies lying on the bed. They were indeed Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, but, instead of a pair of fillies lying there, he saw two small foals with their fur and mane colours, both sucking on their hoof (Silver left, Diamond right), sound asleep.

Rich took a step back, his mind whirling. Not five hours ago his daughter had been of school age, comforting a friend who had lost her family, and now both of them were foals? How could this possibly happen?

As his mind struggled to understand whether or not he was simply dreaming or if this was actually happening, both foals stirred. They pulled the hoof they’d each been sucking on from their mouths, rubbed their eyes and blinked sleepily at the stallion standing before them.

Rich froze, not sure what to do. How would his daughter react to this? When she’d last had something she hadn’t expected and not wanted (becoming foals again had taken away their Cutie Marks and Rich knew how much his daughter loved her Cutie Mark) it had been a disaster. Now that she was a foal, there was no telling the kind of damage he was in for.

While these worried thought pummeled through Rich’s mind, the foals looked at him with curiosity, before they both smiled, holding out their forelegs and shouted, “Daddy!”

Rich was broken out of one stupor, only to fall into another. Diamond didn’t seem upset about becoming a foal, however that happened. Not only that, she and Silver Spoon had just called him daddy.

Had... had they lost all their memories of being fillies? The very thought pierced Rich’s heart, as he realized it meant Diamond had forgotten all the happy times the two of them had shared as father and daughter.

He slumped to the ground, the sadness pressing down on him.

“Daddy?” two small, concerned voices made him slowly look up. Diamond and Silver had crawled across the bed to him and were looking at him from it with worried expressions, not sure why their daddy was upset.

As Rich looked into the innocent faces of the two foals, he felt his heart melt as realization dawned on him. Silver Spoon now had another chance at having a family and Rich had a second chance to raise his daughter right for, loathed as he was to admit it, he had done something wrong the last time for, despite all the happy times they had shared, Diamond had turned out cruel towards others, including Granny Smith, whom he was very good friends with.

Smiling warmly, Rich got up and pulled the two foals into a hug. “Yes, my little girls,” he said as they snuggled into his embrace, giggling. “Daddy’s here and daddy will look after you both and make sure you have happy foalhoods.”

So focused on talking to his daughters was he that Rich didn’t notice the bottle of foal powder and foal cream vanish, along with the box and note they’d come with.

Celestia finished lowering the sun and paused to watch as her sister raised the moon, beginning the night.

She smiled, then turned to head back to her room. She had a few things to look over before turning in for the night.

“Going so soon?” She stopped and glanced over her shoulder to see Discord sitting at the edge of the balcony, holding a fishing line that was cast.

Celestia’s heart sank, realizing why he’d have come so suddenly. “Again?” she asked quietly.

Discord sighed. “Sad fact is, Celly, once is chance, twice is coincidence, but three times? There’s someone doing all this.”

Celestia’s sighed. “Who was affected this time?”

“Oh, don’t be so down, Celly,” Discord grinned. “It was those two fillies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. You know, the ones the CMC have told your sister about in their dreams? The one's Twilight sent a photo of after the three got their Cutie Marks.”

Celestia frowned. “What my sister tells me in the confines on my own dreams are my own business, Discord.”

He merely waved a paw at her words. “Alright, alright. However, I thought you might like to know that we aren’t in the dark as much as before, this time round.”

Celestia’s ears perked up. “You mean, you’ve found a lead as to who’s doing this?”

“Well,” Discord began, but his line suddenly started pulling back and he cried, “Ooh ho-ho! It’s a big one.” When he reeled the line up, the hook was snagged on a plain cardboard box.

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

Discord took the box and reached into it, pulling out a bottle of foal powder, foal cream and a slip of paper.

Celestia’s eyebrow rose higher.

“You need not worry anymore, your highness,” he said, bowing. “No more of your subjects will be randomly turned into infants from this day forth.” He winked. “Unless you decide otherwise, of course.”

Celestia gave him a playful warning smile, before he disappeared with a popping sound.

With her mind at ease and with the knowledge that her subjects were no longer at risk by this mysterious force that had been at work the last three or so weeks, she felt she would be able to enjoy a well earned night’s rest.

Author's Notes:

Discord: Well, chapter 3 certainly is intesting, isn't it.

Oh, i bet you're wondering why li'le ol' me is doing the author's note instead of Autum?

well, let's just say Autum's going to be busy for a while, but don't worry, all will be revealed soon.

So, as he always says, til next time, later everypony