Author's Notes:

This chapter was actually commissioned by a Non-Patron by the name of jaime-lion. And much like my previous chapter of Short Stories, this prompt involves diapers and diaper usage. Reader Discretion is Advised.

Also, feel free to visit my Official Patreon Page if you're curious about submitting your own ideas for this series.

Fortunately for Twilight Sparkle and her two assistants, the group only needed about fifteen minutes of down-time after witnessing that scene from the Alternate Universe. Despite how… unexpectedly that scene’s tone changed to include something so taboo, it seemed that only Sunburst experienced any strong reaction towards it. As for Twilight and Starlight Glimmer, their past experiences with other alternate universes gave them enough proof that they could’ve witnessed something much, much worse in retrospect. And as soon as that point was brought up to Sunburst, he couldn’t necessarily argue with either of them when they wanted to try the spell a second time.

Sunburst’s horn remained lit while he stood beside the floating orb once again, but he was fortunate enough to not be blushing out of embarrassment anymore. But regardless of that fact, Starlight felt the need to ask with a worried-skew of her muzzle, “So… are you sure you’ll be okay, Sunburst? I know you were a little… uncomfortable.”

Starlight didn’t say anything more than that, mostly due to the fact that he would likely get very upset if she mentioned any implicit details. She remembered seeing how tightly the stallion tried to cover himself with the cape while he was sitting next to her, as well as when he exited the Surveillance Room behind her. Starlight didn’t want to make any assumptions, since she was certain that Sunburst wasn’t expecting that kind of response either. But after she and Twilight learned about his… preferences in ponies of older ages, it wouldn’t have been surprising to learn that the details of that scene triggered similar feelings as well.

But alas, Sunburst only responded with a shake of his head and a reassuring smile back at Starlight. “Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine,” he said insistently, his tone carrying a bit of graciousness towards the other unicorn. Since Starlight was considerate enough to not mention anything to Twilight about his physical response to the scene, Sunburst was able to say sincerely, “I just wasn’t expecting the scene to go in that kind of direction. But, uhh… yeah, I think we can all say that we’ve seen worse stuff than that.”

Starlight and Twilight both giggled with confirming nods to that assessment, unable to dispute that kind of claim by any means. “Well, despite the direction that scene went,” noted Twilight as she lit up her own horn, “I still consider it to be a massive success! I mean, we got to catch a glimpse from a universe where our genders were switched! That’s something that could be published in a scientific journal!”

“Hopefully you don’t mean that specific scene, right?~” asked Starlight with a teasing jeer as she smirked back at her. While Twilight scoffed with a roll of her eyes, Sunburst couldn’t help chuckling with a hoof over his muzzle.

“Oh, har har har,” replied Twilight with a sarcastic tone of voice. Fortunately for Starlight, she was able to see that the Princess still carried a small smirk of amusement on her face following that little jab. “But seriously though? If we’re able to record something from an alternate universe we could display to the other Princesses, we could actually get a grant for official research!”

“Ehhhhhh…” Starlight seemed more than a little apprehensive about that idea, and tilted her head while carrying a hesitant skew on her muzzle. “Are you sure about that? Because I’d rather not have either of them on us for some of the scenes we’ve already recorded.”

Twilight pursed her lips tightly shut as her expression dropped in an instant. Considering some of the scenes they’ve already recorded, as well as the ones they disposed of for violating ponies’ privacy, the Alicorn didn’t need any further context to understand Starlight’s point. While Twilight looked away from her with a faint blush from embarrassment, Sunburst sucked some air through his teeth before saying, “Uhhh… yeah, we might need to hold off on that for a bit, Twilight. Or at least, we should wait until we have something really important that they should see for themselves.”

“Absolutely, absolutely…” Twilight needed another second to clear her thoughts, but then gave Sunburst an affirmative nod of her head. “Trust me, I’m not planning to break the confidentiality of these sessions anytime soon. I’m just saying that there’s a chance that we could implement this for the better if the opportunity presents itself. But for now, let’s just see where this goes.”

After Sunburst nodded in agreement, Twilight took a breath before giving that magic orb a quick zap to activate it once more. Sunburst kept his own horn lit as well, and kept his eyes closed in concentration as he repeated the process he performed last time. While Twilight made her way back to the couch to sit beside her protègè, Starlight’s eyes narrowed on the orb as she watched those moving swirls of color altering in their trajectories. Sunburst grunted under his breath from the strain, but it seemed that he had a better grasp in maintaining his aura this time as opposed to the previous incantation. In less than a couple seconds, the Crystaller was able to successfully alter the orb’s magical chemistry to summon up another scene from a different universe.

“Alright!” chirped Twilight excitedly, as she scooted over to leave some space for Sunburst on the couch. As the stallion sat himself down beside the Princess, a new screen started to emerge from the magic orb. Since their first attempt was a technical success, all three of the ponies had optimistic smiles as they saw a familiar setting come into view…

Just a stone’s throw away from the School of Friendship, it seemed that a large crowd was presently seated along the colosseum-like benches that wrapped around the outdoor theater. Twilight recalled that the last time that stage was being used, it was to include Princess Celestia in that play production that almost turned to a complete disaster. But as she and her assistants watched the stage on the screen now, it seemed that the attendees were there for a different event. Princess Celestia could be seen just barely within sight from behind the stage curtains, looking like she was talking with somepony else; however, unlike the previous scene they witnessed from an alternate universe, there didn’t seem to be any discernible difference between that Alicorn and the one from their own world.

Of course, there was no doubt that this was an alternate universe when the three finally saw who Celestia was talking to: Princess Twilight Sparkle.

The Twilight on their side of the magic feed gasped with her hooves over her mouth, not expecting to see herself in one of these scenes. Starlight and Sunburst seemed rather shocked as well, and had to do some double-takes between the screen and the Princess sitting between them. Meanwhile back in the scene, it seemed that the alternate Twilight was looking profoundly nervous while hidden behind the stage’s curtain. Even though the magic feed’s point of view wasn’t able to go inside the stage area, it was close enough to overhear Celestia’s conversation with the younger Alicorn.

“Twilight, I promise you that it’ll be alright,” she said in a reassuring, but still firmish tone of voice. “Everypony is already aware of your… incident, so they know to be respectful about it.”

The alternate Twilight could be heard huffing nervously from that statement, and the brief glimpse of her face revealed a heavy blush across her cheeks. “W-Well, that doesn’t mean that they will!” she exclaimed fearfully, her eyes peering up at the Alicorn with a fretful look. “Celestia, why should I give this speech?!”

“Well, you are the Headmare of this school,” replied Celestia in a more matter-of-fact tone. “Don’t you think that you should address your students for this speech? I mean, you even wrote it yourself.”
“Ugh… I know that I did,” she said with a bitter sigh, and one of her hooves coming up to cover her face in embarrassment. “B-But I… I wrote a lot of that speech before all of… of this…”

Twilight brought her hoof back down to motion towards herself, clearly emphasizing something that couldn’t be seen from the magic feed’s perspective. Since most of the mare’s body was hidden behind the thick curtain, the surveilling Twilight seemed just as confused about the context as her assistants were. It may have been an alternate universe, but the sheer similarities that could be seen from the scene’s versions of Twilight and Celestia was leaving all three of them with a strange sense of uncertainty. Not to mention, the scene grew even more confusing when one of Twilight’s students emerged from behind her.

Gallus, who looked exactly the same in that world as he did in their own, stood beside the nervous Princess with a confident smile on his beak. “Hey, it’s gonna be alright, Twi~” he said genuinely, before he wrapped his foreleg around her shoulder to pull her in close. The scene’s Twilight let out a nervous and surprised squeak from that close contact, which was identical to the one the other Twilight made from witnessing it. But despite that surprising action, Celestia looked at the two with a warm smile as Gallus added, “Trust me, nobody is gonna poke fun of you, okay? You’re still a Princess AND an Equestrian Hero! Only a complete moron would try to crack a joke about your… thing.”

Twilight closed her eyes and exhaled sharply, obviously not looking too comforted by the gryphon’s sentiment. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia giggled briefly before she said, “Well, I probably wouldn’t word it that bluntly, Gallus. However, I do feel that your statement holds enough merit for me to agree.”

Gallus nodded with a prideful smile up at Celestia, while Twilight still had her lip bitten in trepidation. However, the younger mare was still able to breathe out more calmly, before she glanced up at her former Mentor and asked, “So… you really think I’ll be fine?”

Celestia’s smile turned even warmer than before. “Princess Twilight, I know that you’ll be fine.” She brought out a hoof to pet Twilight’s mane, which made her blush immensely and struggle not to smile from the affectionate gesture. Meanwhile, the Alicorn added sincerely, “And I promise you, nopony is going to make fun of you. They all already know what happened, and they know this isn’t something you’re wearing by choice.”

Even though the Twilight on screen looked somewhat comforted by that assurance, the three ponies watching through the other end started to grow wary. Since none of them could see what that remark was referring to, Starlight was the first to tilt her head and ask rhetorically, “Wait… What are they talking about?”

“I’m… not sure?” said Sunburst while his eyes were narrowed on the screen, and his tone of voice remained just as puzzled as his friend’s. “Do you think she has a cast on or something?”

While Starlight shrugged her shoulders in response to that theory, Twilight’s expression grew more uncomfortable the longer she stared at that alternate version of herself. She had no idea what the scene was going to reveal, but she was already feeling wary about the direction it may head towards. Unfortunately, just as the Celestia on screen motioned a hoof out towards the stage, Twilight’s heart started to race upon seeing her alternate preparing herself. She had no time to make any guesses as to what the problem may have been, which meant she had no way to anticipate what the actual reveal really was.

With a reassuring pat on the back from Gallus, the alternate Twilight breathed out one last time before making her way to the stage. Since Celestia was introducing the Headmare herself, all of the students seated around the stage applauded politely upon Twilight’s presence. Because of the lack of any giggles or rude remarks, the blushing Alicorn was able to smile the slightest bit through her blushed and frazzled state. However, it was probably lucky that she couldn’t hear through the magic feed viewing the event, since the three ponies in the Surveillance Room all gasped with stunned looks on their faces.

This may have been a different alternate universe than the previous scene they watched, but it seemed that both worlds had an oddly consistent theme. The viewers were left in a bout of awkward silence and Deja Vu as they saw the alternate version of Twilight on screen, who was waddling up to the stage’s podium while wearing a thick, poofy diaper. Despite the respectful applause she was receiving from the audience, her nervous smile and unwavering blush now looked completely justified given the foalish attire she was forced to wear over her backside.

Sunburst and Starlight’s mouths were both equally agape, unable to fully process the fact that the friend right beside them was being shown in such a shockingly contrasting light on screen. Meanwhile, the un-diapered Twilight could only stare at the alternate version of herself with her eyes as wide as frisbees, and her expressionless face void of all natural color. Her left eye twitched violently, making it look like her brain was short-circuiting from the unflattering image laid out before her.

If any of the three were able to properly speak, one of them would’ve likely asked if Sunburst’s spell included some sort of filter that was prompting such a coincidental theme. But due to their shocked states of mind, the room remained silent while the alternate Twilight cleared her throat.

“Ummm… H-Hello, Fillies and Gentlecolts,” muttered the diapered Princess meekly, which was fortunately still audible due to the microphone placed before her on the podium. Even though her padded rump was somewhat hidden behind the wooden stand, Twilight’s muzzle still wrinkled in embarrassment while peering around the auditorium. Her tail flicked back and forth from her nervousness, which caused it to repeatedly smack against that padded plastic with distinct thumps. She tried to readjust her stature while standing on her hind-legs, but even the slightest movement caused her diaper to crinkle loudly enough to elicit a heavy blush. Luckily, the Alicorn only needed a brief moment to breathe before she continued her recited speech.

“N-Now… As most of you may have already known by now, I… experienced a rather unsettling incident from a failed experiment a protègè and I were conducting. And… despite our best efforts, we’re still trying to find a solution to my current incontinency…”

Starlight and the unpadded Twilight shared a silent, knowing look of unease back at one another. Even though the Princess on screen didn’t give any specific names, the two knew exactly who she was referring to when she used the term “protègè” in her description. Starlight looked away from her friend with a profoundly guilty look, even though they both knew she wasn’t responsible for what happened to that version of Twilight. Nevertheless, the mare still tried not to wince shamefully before she muttered, “Ummm… well, I’m glad we’re not in that timeline…”

Twilight nodded solemnly before looking back at the screen, her muzzle still tightly shut. Sunburst had to tug at the collar of his cape, unable to handle the growing tension he could feel radiating from that awkward exchange. Meanwhile, the diapered version of Twilight kept speaking as her voice slowly turned more professional with each passing word. “However… despite how significantly this event may have altered my day-to-day life, I… I can’t look past the fact that it’s also taught me a lot about what’s important when it comes to friendship…”

Celestia nodded with a warm smile while she stood to the side of the stage, not wanting to intervene in Twilight’s humbling speech. Gallus remained behind the stage alongside Spike, not needing to see his Headmare to understand the gist of her words. However, his head tilted the slightest bit while he narrowed his eyes on her backside, and noticed a distinct twitch from one of Twilight’s hind-legs.

“For example,” continued Twilight as a more content-looking smile began to emerge across her muzzle, clearly not recognizing anything was amiss due to her incontinent state. Her tail started to flick around more violently, smacking against her diaper while her words droned over those muffled thumps. “I was able to see just how accommodating my friends could be while I was at such a low point. They were able to help me trust that they wouldn’t pass any judgement, to try to poke fun at my condition. They knew that I was in need of help, and they did exactly what good friends should do: they helped to pick me up and steer me into the riiiiiiieeeeeennnNNGHH!”

The Princess instantly froze up while she was standing upright, and her forelegs clung to the back of her podium rather tightly. Twilight tried her hardest to keep herself expressionless to avoid any alarm, but her body still quivered notably enough to make Celestia’s brows raise. The moment her words temporarily cut off to emit that strained groan, her hind-legs struggled not to buckle from that familiar feeling that was leaving her heart thundering in dread. She tried to take a deep breath to recompose herself, but a heavy blush began to radiate across her cheeks as she felt her tail instinctively lifting up through the diaper’s tail-flap.

“Mmmmfff… T-To… To steer me into the right direction,” she said after that brief pause, which concluded just quickly enough to make her hope nopony in the audience caught on to her current affliction. Celestia looked away from her as she tried not to blush from embarrassment, and scanned the crowd of students just in case any of them caught wind of what was occurring. Fortunately, it seemed that only Gallus was able to notice what was happening as his eyes widened, and his ears twitched from hearing her fidgety words. “Th-They also, ummm… They helped me remember the importance of forgiveness, a-and to… to recognize when somepony made an accide--I-I mean! A… a mistake…”

That small slip up prompted a couple of involuntary giggles from the crowd, but they quickly dissipated while Celestia was glaring warningly out at the audience. Meanwhile, it seemed that Twilight wasn’t just struggling to keep an accident from slipping through her words. Her muzzle twitched the slightest bit while she fidgeted in her stance, and tried to control her breathing as best as she could. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to change the fact that her tail was flagging upward even higher…

Nor did it keep a faint and distinct hissing sound from emanating between her quivering legs.

Starlight gasped in horror while her hooves came up over her mouth, but she couldn’t look away as she saw the bottom of that diaper start to slowly sag downward. Sunburst looked away and cringed intensely, unable to handle seeing that white padding grow a faint shade of yellow as the hissing continued. All the while, the Twilight who was watching the spectacle turned a deathly shade of pale, and grew a look that made it seem like she was going to either cry or vomit. Before either of her friends on the couch could try and console her, the Alicorn got up from her seat to exit the room once again. Sunburst and Starlight didn’t try to stop her, but they still winced shamefully from the second-hoof embarrassment they felt by being present for that.

As for the diapered Twilight on screen, it seemed that she was surprisingly able to keep her composure in check. Even as her diaper became soaked with a heavy torrent of her urine, which caused the thick padding to sink down a few inches between her legs, the mare tried to keep talking to avoid emphasizing that mishap. “I also… I-I also learned not to be too… t-too presumptuous about ponies’ opinions,” she said while addressing the crowd, hopeful that her voice was louder than the hissing from her diaper. “Because… I’ve honestly received much more support and love from ponies around me following this incident… th-than I have any jokes or negative comments…”

The crowd of students before Twilight all applauded respectfully, clearly trying to show which side they were on in regards to that point. Twilight smiled appreciatively back at them, even though her bottom lip bit down hard from her incontinence still ongoing. Even as her wetting finally stopped, and her diaper now carried an obvious golden tint, her tail was still raised up high to leave her legs trembling. Fortunately, it didn’t seem that anyone in the audience was able to hear the rumbling gurgle that emitted from Twilight’s gut behind the podium…

“Oh no,” groaned Starlight as she sunk her face into her hooves to avoid watching the scene. “Nooooooo, no no no no no….”

Meanwhile, Sunburst could only gulp worriedly as he continued to watch in uncomfortable silence.

“But… But most of all…” It seemed that Twilight knew what was going to happen, and took one final breath while her eyes were closed to prepare for the moment. Since she knew the impending mudslide couldn’t be stopped, the Princess reopened her eyes to address the crowd with a newfound bout of determination. “... I learned that no matter what obstacles may come my way, that there will never be one that I won’t be able to face!”

It may have appeared that the diapered Alicorn was able to overcome her nervousness through confidence alone, but Celestia could tell she just wanted to speak with a louder voice to muffle what was happening beneath her padding. Just as the Princess began to speak in a more regal and unfaltering tone, her body’s natural instincts finally gave in, and the back of her diaper suddenly pushed outward just beneath her tail.

“And I want every single one of you to remember that fact, first and foremost!” she declared with more authority and conviction in her tone, even as she heard a muffled bout of rumbling gas seeping out from her padded rump. Since she didn’t need to push, Twilight’s voice didn’t sound strained while her legs continued to quiver, and the backside of her diaper kept swelling out from the incoming mess. From Gallus’ perspective, his beak dropped upon seeing the hefty bulge that emerged from Twilight’s lumpy filth starting to fill her diaper. But for the rest of the students in front of the podium, all that were able to see was a determined Alicorn who spoke more passionately. “Because no matter what direction we try to guide ourselves in our lives, there will always be instances where troubles will come your way. But even if an obstacle seems impossible to overcome, or too daunting to move around, never forget how significantly things can improve with the help of a good friend!”

That statement caused the crowd to give another resounding round of applause, which was extremely convenient considering the rumbling bout of gas that blurted out through her diaper during it. The onslaught of filth that exuded out caused that padding to sag even lower than before, and made that messy diaper hang a few more inches down from her waist. Despite how expertly-applied the tapes at her sides may have been, it was surprising how well that diaper could hold up while that onslaught of her thick mess made it heavier. The sounds of her sloppy, and undoubtedly wet explusion weren’t too restrained by her thick padding, but her confident voice certainly covered it up as she said through the mic, “Just like how my friends and I used the Elements of Harmony to vanquish numerous foes, or how some of our very own alumni bonded together to defeat Cozy Glow, just remember that there will always be a light of hope! Even in the darkest of times, you can always reach forward to achieve your goals! Just as long as you remember... you don’t need to face the darkness alone.”

Twilight closed her eyes as she let out an involuntary shudder, trying not to grimace from the feeling of her hot, steamy mess trying to pull down her diaper through the weight alone. Fortunately, the Princess’ rump was still adequately secured by the time her filling finally ceased, and she was able to look back out to her audience to say with a gracious nod, “Thank you.”

Everyone in attendance for that moment, including Celestia and Gallus, all clapped and applauded while the Princess remained in her standing position behind the podium. The only ponies who didn’t give any applause were Starlight and Sunburst, who were watching through the magic feed with equally unnerved expressions on their blushed faces. Despite witnessing such an… unsavory act being performed by an alternate version of their friend up-close, the fact that she gave such a resounding speech was leaving them pretty conflicted. Not to mention, the fact that she wasn’t caught or humiliated during the process was definitely a positive as well.

Back at the scene itself, Celestia was quick to come in and drape a wing over Twilight’s back, which helped to cover her... incident as the two walked backstage together. As soon as the two were out of sight behind the curtains, Twilight nearly collapsed on the floor as she let out a mortified sigh. “Ohmigosh!” she blurted in a sharp and winded tone, which made it sound like she just ran a marathon in cinder-block horseshoes. “I… I can’t believe I did that…”

Fortunately for the saggy-padded Princess, Ceelstia kept her wing tightly around Twilight’s back in loving embrace. “Well, if it means anything,” she said in a kind and prideful-sounding voice, “you can now say that you dealt with one of the worst-possible scenarios a pony like you could face, and you managed to endure it completely unscathed!~”

Even though she was still very overwhelmed, Twilight still gave an emotional and thankful smile up to her Mentor. Meanwhile, Spike and Gallus were standing several feet away from the two while the dragon fanned his face with a claw. “Phew! Judging by that smell, I wouldn’t use the term ‘completely’.”

While Twilight’s muzzle wrinkled up immensely, Celestia and Gallus both laughed from that cheeky remark. Even Spike started giggling after hearing their reactions, happy that he didn’t get in any trouble for joking about her issue. Meanwhile, Gallus was the first to stop chuckling as he said towards Twilight, “Well, just so you know, I don’t think anyone from the other end of that podium saw what was happening. Although… maybe next time you should wear a skirt or something?”

Twilight groaned with a roll of her eyes, and muttered bitterly, “Please don’t say that around Rarity. I just got her to stop pestering me about that.”

“He’s just trying to help,” reminded Celestia in a more sympathetic tone of voice. As she pulled her wing away from the padded Alicorn, the resoundingly ripe smell that was cupped underneath caused her to fan her hoof as well. “Aaaaaaaand I think you need a little more help~”

Twilight sighed again with a stronger grimace, but was thankfully unable to say anything before Gallus’ claw tapped her shoulder. As she and the others glanced back at the gryphon, he was carrying a small blush across his cheeks before asking timidly, “Do… Do you need a diaper change? I mean, I’ve babysat a lot of hatchlings back in the Gryphon Kingdom, so…”

While Twilight’s eyes narrowed on Gallus in surprise, Spike threw his claws up and said, “You know what? You can have at it, dude! I do not want to deal with that again.”

“Awwww, how thoughtful!” cooed Celestia with a more accepting tone towards the gryphon. She then glanced back at the other Alicorn to add, “See, Twilight? I told you that your condition will bring out the best in others.”

Even though she wanted to believe that, Twilight kept her eyes on Gallus in suspicion as she asked, “You just want extra credit, don’t you?”

Gallus blinked a couple times with a surprised expression, but was quick to eventually relax and shrug his shoulders. “Weeeelllllll… I wouldn’t mind getting some if I do it~”

With that, the scene finally started to dissipate from view, which left Starlight and Sunburst with the final image of everyone laughing as Gallus’ answer. A few minutes passed in silence after that scene ended, with the two unicorns sitting awkwardly before the ever-hovering orb. After the uncomfortable moment was able to pass by them at a glacier’s pace, Sunburst looked over at his friend to ask, “So… do we keep that footage? Or…”

Starlight Glimmer needed a second to think that over, and answered with a sharp huff before saying, “Well, we’re certainly not gonna show it to Celestia, that’s for sure.”