“And so I said, the socks were always green.”

Everypony laughed. Scootaloo laughed too, though she didn’t get the punchline.

“So anyway,” Florence said, “that’s the story of how we, and by extension all life in the world, got here. I’d like to stay for some questions, but seeing how we’re running late, and I know you folks wouldn’t want to miss the festival, I suggest we handle it as we go.”

Everypony got up to stretch, some of them even yawning and blinking their eyes, and began to depart from the pretty refuge under the great tree. Fluttershy followed after the others as well, covering an increasingly large distance before stopping and waiting up for Scootaloo.

Scootaloo had rolled off her bean bag, but hadn’t been able to make much progress since. She’d been trying to walk after her mommy, but whenever she lifted her leg, her diaper shifted and mushed its contents around, the warm presence strikingly conspicuous, snugly secured against her rear. And the feeling was very strange.

Fluttershy had to hold up a hoof to hide her smile. The image of innocuous confusion standing there alone in the grass was almost too adorable to bear. “It’s okay, Scoots. Come,” Fluttershy said, “Come over to me and we’ll walk together.”

That was enough to push Scootaloo over the edge. She leapt up and rapidly waddled over into her mommy’s calming presence, munching on her pacifier as she did her best to ignore her diaper’s squishy shenanigans beneath her tail.

Scootaloo sidled up to Fluttershy, and they walked after the rest of the group, paced decidedly faster than when they had arrived. Boy, those ponies really had to be looking forward to that festival.

They descended down the other side of the hill. The thicket swallowing the path didn’t turn out too thick after all, rather than a merely functional barrier for where the trodden trail went down into the ground. Breathing distinctly colder air, the ponies walked down into the little valley, slight trickles of water making the earthen walls glisten on either side.

A brazen set of small brown caps sprouted from the wall, taunting Scootaloo to touch them. They were disgustingly slick and slimy.

“This is our mushroom cavern,” Florence said, “the climate is specifically controlled by a configuration of water, hydrophilic plants, and the isolating clay barriers. It’s the ideal environment for a diverse population of several fungus families, they’re experts in settling even in the darkest and most hidden nooks and crannies. Go ahead, the ones you see are edible.”

A colt gingerly plucked out one creased orange mushroom and ate it. Scootaloo looked on with a wrinkled nose.

“No, thanks,” she said, “Fungus? Do you sequence them too?”

“Yes, we sequence their genes,” Florence chuckled, “A lot, actually. There is much to be learned from monitoring the genetic composition of a continuously evolving population, and the ready availability of these fungi also makes for a good baseline for developing new and alternative methods. But, in practice, these walls serve mostly to torture students, since the process is not too complicated, but also not too easy, making for excellent practice.”

Cold water splashed about whenever somepony shriekingly stepped into a puddle, so enthralled was everypony with the pretty display of life adorning the slick walls. There wasn’t much variety in terms of color, all the mushrooms sported some off-white shade, but the variety in shapes looked alien at times.

There were small, elongated specimens with pretty caps, short and stout ones sporting reinforced outer layers, almost translucent light ones that grew together by the hundreds, huge wrinkled funnels that stood entirely on their own. And they only became more extravagant further inside, glowing little dots lighting up dark caverns on their own and shiny little seedlings exerting the unmistakable pull of magic.

The trench wasn’t too long, sunshine and warm, dry air greeting them on the other side. The permeating presence of magic didn’t diminish, though.

“And finally, this is the magical garden,” Florence said, “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you not to touch, eat, or come close to anything here. You know how tricky magic plants can be. They don’t really get along with anything else, or even with their own kind as a matter of fact, so we cordoned them off here. However, I’d like to tell you that we offer alchemy courses back at the institute, which will acquaint you with these plants more than intimately.”

There might have been flowerbeds and fences in this field once, but they had been long conquered by the vast flora growing everywhere. Long, spiralling stalks gripped onto everything and snaked their way high into the air, combatted at points only by rolling masses of fibrous strands and bulbous outgrowths adorned with glowing, reflecting and refracting fruit and bloom of only the starkest and most intense colors.

“Look, there’s a bubbleshell,” Scootaloo said, “we have those in Ponyville too, right?”

“Very good, Scootaloo,” Fluttershy said. The little plant made itself some breathing room with the wide, oily bubble that protected the single tiny seed at the center.

“And look, it’s poison joke,” Fluttershy pointed out, “I’d rather not get too close to it.” The radiant blue petals were rightly being shunned by the surrounding plants.

Though fascinating, nopony in this group dared get too close to any of this garden’s intimidating denizens. Accordingly big was the relief when they found themselves standing in front of the station again.

“That concludes our little tour,” Florence said, “I hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll remind you that we’ll be at the science fair tomorrow for those who are interested.”

The group quickly split up back in the entrance hall. It had been quite an inspiring tour though, Scootaloo had never known how neatly things fit together in nature. Whatever simple patterns emerged, like adaptation or symbiosis, kept repeating at every scale of grandness to form the complexity that was life. The concept wasn’t very complicated, and kind of droll, really.

“Hey, little filly,” Florence stepped up to her. His lab coat wasn’t so shiny white anymore and seemed to fit him perfectly now. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Scootaloo,” she said.

“Great work out there, Scootaloo,” Florence said, “You really contributed. Everypony learned something today.”

“Really?” Scootaloo said, “I don’t think I learned anything. I just loved listening to your stories. The tour was really fun! I didn’t know how amazingly everything works.”

“Whatever you wanna call it,” Florence said, “In either case, I can see you’ve got an eye for overarching relations, Scootaloo. Do you think biology is interesting?”

“This is biology?” Scootaloo said, “I never thought biology could be this fun. I always thought it was just confusing little symbols and arrows that make no sense.”

Florence laughed heartily. “That’s chemistry you’re thinking about,” he said, “and while that’s important for everything that goes on in nature, it’s not about the little symbols and arrows. The important part is what it means. The relations. Everything else is just details.”

“Oh,” Scootaloo said, “cool.” Huh. Where had she stashed her chemistry and biology books from school again? She would have to look up and confirm the difference.

“Anyway,” Florence said, “I think your mommy’s looking for you.” Indeed, Fluttershy was approaching them, blatantly carrying a clean, fluffy diaper and a pack of baby wipes, leaving no doubt as to the reason why she sought her filly. “You guys should come to the science fair tomorrow, I think you’ll be able to find something that interests you. See ya later in any case.”

“I think we will,” Fluttershy said, and they waved him goodbye. “So, did you enjoy the tour, Scoots?”

“It’s really interesting,” Scootaloo said, “how much thought they’re putting into keeping everything up and running.”

“I’m sure there’s much more than what we’ve seen today,” Fluttershy said, “Ecologic systems can get rather intricate. Maybe some other day, though. I think I need a bit of a rest.”

“Everypony else seems to have had their fill too,” Scootaloo said, “look, they’re all leaving.”

“Well, it’s getting kind of late,” Fluttershy said, “we’ll be going too, right after we get you cleaned up and into a fresh pair of pants, okay?”

Scootaloo was led over to the bathroom door. True enough, she needed to be cleaned up, but she had been kind of ignoring the fact, partly because everything else had been so interesting, but also because she was comfortable in trusting her mommy to take care of it.

They only had one bathroom, but it was rather well kept for its small size, and for how much traffic it saw today. Not everypony had taken precautions before the tour, so a few ponies passed through with apparent urgency. Luckily, there was a changing table, bolted to the wall out of the way, opposite of the other fittings. Unluckily, it was in use.

It was the little foal from the tour, getting her diaper changed by her daddy. “Just a moment,” he said, “we’ll be done in a jiffy.”

“It’s alright,” Fluttershy said, “we have time.”

The stallion was fast, clean and efficient at changing diapers. The little filly barely had time to catch on as she was being tidied up and dressed in a new diaper, so competent was his every move. However, while impressive, he lacked the leisure to drag out the process long enough to make the little details enjoyable. Fluttershy’s diaper changes weren’t as fast, but Scootaloo much preferred them.

Fluttershy picked Scootaloo up and lifted her onto the unoccupied end of the changing table. Scootaloo tensed up as she was sat down on top of a bunch of soft mush, but mommy knew what she was doing, so Scootaloo relaxed and suckled on her pacifier while snuggling into Fluttershy’s chest.

“There, there, Scootaloo,” Fluttershy cooed. She reached behind Scootaloo’s back and rolled up her jacket and shirt. “Here, can you hold this up for me?”

“Sure,” Scootaloo said. She loved helping her mommy.

Scootaloo’s skirt got pulled away and placed aside, leaving her sitting only in her diaper. Constantly being wrapped up in thick diapers over the last day had lessened the unfamiliarity of the sensation, Scootaloo could rest easy without being too nervous about other ponies seeing her special crinkly underwear. After all, the little foal beside her was dressed quite similarly.

However, when Fluttershy reached above Scootaloo’s tail and ripped open the tape that had been holding everything up, the backside of Scootaloo’s diaper sagged down severely under the weight of its contents, making it painfully obvious how urgent the change was.

“Now that feels all better, doesn’t it?” the stallion cooed, “alright, we’re done. Stage’s all yours.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said.

She grabbed Scootaloo and gently laid her down onto her back, giving her a moment to comfortably snuggle into place. Scootaloo’s hind legs were parted carefully, followed by two loud rips as the diaper tapes were unfastened around her hips. Scootaloo knew that mommy had a good handle on everything, but still she couldn’t help fidgeting in anxiety as Fluttershy’s hoof grabbed the front of her diaper.

“It’s okay, Scoots,” Fluttershy said, “you don’t have to be nervous. We’ll be done before you know it, just see. Here, why don’t you go ahead and play with your paci in the meantime? You’ve got the prettiest little glitter paci of them all, isn’t that right?”

Fluttershy flicked the handle of Scootaloo’s pacifier, encouraging Scootaloo to pick up the pace and give the pacifier good, even and rhythmic suckles. Mommy’s calming voice and the soft rubber in her mouth worked wonders to calm Scootaloo down, presenting her with something pleasant to focus on while the world continued to turn. And there was nothing more pleasant for Scootaloo than being in her mommy’s care.

Scootaloo shouldn’t have been surprised that Fluttershy was amazing at what she did. She didn’t hesitate or make the endeavour awkward at all, but instead moved with such a confident grace to free the wonderful moment from any unease.

Fluttershy held the diaper front and wiped it across Scootaloo’s lower belly and down between her legs. In one smooth motion, Fluttershy grabbed Scootaloo by the boots and lifted her rear off the diaper, high into the air. She brought the relatively clean diaper front back up against Scootaloo’s butt, and tightly pulled it down between her cheeks, easily cleaning away most of the mess in one go. All that remained was for Fluttershy to pluck a few baby wipes out of the pack and thoroughly give Scootaloo’s buttocks a good rub, leaving in her fur nothing but soothing, cool freshness.

It felt wonderful. No longer was Scootaloo worried about her appearance and other such nonsense, so fully immersed was she in the joy of her hindquarters’ pampering. None of the passing ponies paid any attention anyways, except for that one time, when the door swung open and an older filly came in. She stopped briefly and looked at Scootaloo, wondering what somepony her own size was doing on the changing table. The mystery was quickly solved, however, as Scootaloo was, in fact, getting her butt wiped by her mommy. So it was just a little foal, doing little foal things. Without further ado, the filly went her own way.

Fluttershy fluffed out a fresh diaper, it was a little bunny rabbit, and slipped it under Scootaloo, lowering her down onto the incredibly welcome dry soft fluff. Scootaloo watched in amazement as Fluttershy took the old, dirty diaper and rolled it up tightly, re-using the sticky tapes to seal it into a neat little plastic packet. It was so small! And yet it had granted Scootaloo so many comforts. She couldn’t think of anything more selfless than that.

The used diaper heavily plopped into the waste container. Fluttershy turned back and grabbed the fresh diaper’s front, holding it closely against Scootaloo as she pulled it tight and flattened it against her stomach. Rip open one of the tapes, rip the other one, and the crinkly plastic was fastened snugly around Scootaloo’s waist.

Mommy embraced Scootaloo and lifted her upright, Fluttershy’s all-encompassing presence brimming with affection as she fastened the final tape above Scootaloo’s tail.

“Okay, you can let go now,” Fluttershy said.

Scootaloo released her clothing and the jacket fell over stomach again. It looked so funny, the big coat covered everything, except for a small bit of white and baby blue plastic peeking out between Scootaloo’s legs. And even that soon vanished as Fluttershy fastened the skirt around Scootaloo’s waist.

“There we go,” Fluttershy said, “nice, isn’t it?”

Scootaloo was put back down onto the floor. She had to wait a few more moments while Fluttershy went to freshen up. It was only fair, why should Scootaloo be the only one to feel all nice and tidy? Besides, it gave her the chance to move around a bit, and relish the awesome crisp freshness on her backside, snugly encased within the comfy warm softness of her diaper.

She had done it. Scootaloo had made as little foals did, and it turned out, it was really, really cool. Little foals didn’t know how to take care of themselves, and so they got groomed and taken care of by big ponies, free to enjoy all the wondrous sensations brought on by the love and affection they received. And it felt amazing.

And all thanks to the most wonderful pony Scootaloo knew.

“Looks like we should get going,” Fluttershy said, “doesn’t seem like anypony’s here anymore.”

The entrance hall was deserted. Not even the staff was present anymore, probably went home, seeing how the sun was already low. The outside air was beginning to cool, but the bustle of the city was only beginning to pick up, the bright cones of floodlights waving through the sky and setting clouds aglow from underneath.

The path snaked between a bunch of fields, encouraging them to cross it back into the busy urban life. But no matter how tantalizing the glittering skyline was, Scootaloo had no eyes for anything but the beautiful pony that was with her. She had never felt as spirited as when she was together with Fluttershy, and despite Scootaloo’s awkwardness, Fluttershy had never made their time uncomfortable or weird whatsoever.

On the contrary, Fluttershy had brought her so much peace and comfort, Scootaloo could think of nothing more luxurious than burying her face in Fluttershy’s lavish fur and being cuddled in a tight and secure embrace. Fluttershy was cool, awesome, radical, amazing, and so very, very pretty.

Fluttershy secured Scootaloo in the stroller, momentarily rolled her shoulders, stretched her legs, and off they went down the trodden path.

Scootaloo laid back in her seat, holding on to the belt as the stroller rumbled across the earth. Her cheeks suddenly got very warm whenever she merely thought about looking up to her mommy. But she only managed to hold out for so long, and she eventually snuck a little peek at Fluttershy’s lovely muzzle, shining brilliant golden in the evening light. The softest and fuzziest bit of fur Scootaloo had ever seen adorned the tip of that muzzle. Was it really as silky as it looked?

Fluttershy’s eyes met Scootaloo’s, and Scootaloo immediately looked away. She didn’t want to seem like she was staring, so she looked straight ahead instead. The interesting grasses and rocks had obviously caught her attention, she had to inspect them all.

She waited for an appropriate amount of time to pass before looking back. But Fluttershy was still looking her straight in the eyes, accompanied by a light smile this time.

“What’s the matter, Scootaloo?” Fluttershy said, “You seem a bit more quiet than usual.”

“Nothing …” Scootaloo said, “Just, uh … looking at the, um … clouds.”

“The clouds,” Fluttershy said.

Scootaloo swallowed, desperately trying to succeed in making herself not look stupid.

“You … “ Scootaloo said, “um, you … you’re pretty.”

“Thank you, Scoots,” Fluttershy giggled, “I also think you’re a very pretty filly.”

Well, Scootaloo hadn’t succeeded.

“Do you want a kissy on the cheek?” Fluttershy said.

“Yes, please,” Scootaloo said. A kissy sounded like what she needed right about now.

Fluttershy stopped the stroller and came around. With a hoof, she gently brushed away an errant lock of Scootaloo’s mane and brought her lips up to Scootaloo’s cheek, planting on them a soft and comforting peck brimming with reassurance. The peculiar spot of fur was softer than a down feather. Scootaloo couldn’t help giggling from the wonderful feeling.

“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Fluttershy said.

She gave Scootaloo’s cheek another kiss and began nuzzling her behind the ear, making Scootaloo squeal in tickling delight.

Scootaloo turned her head and also began nuzzling the side of Fluttershy’s face in return. She was laughing by now, and the only thing that could make her feel even better were the sweet giggles she managed to encourage out of Fluttershy.

Fluttershy rubbed her nose against Scootaloo’s before brushing over it and nuzzling the other side of her face. She must have hit a ticklish spot, because Scootaloo was squirming and babbling in good humour.

Scootaloo tried to pay her back by twisting her muzzle underneath Fluttershy’s, probing around her chin with slight contacts, eliciting more of the wonderful sounds of bemusement she liked to hear so much.

Fluttershy attempted to touch their noses together again, but Scootaloo was trying to switch sides and return the kiss on Fluttershy’s cheek.

They ended up bumping into each other and Scootaloo accidentally kissed Fluttershy on the lips.

The marvellous radiance of the contact warmed Scootaloo down to her very soul.

Scootaloo broke away, panting hard as she feigned indignant shock.

She had lingered too long.

Oh no.

Fluttershy had surely noticed.

Had Scootaloo truly screwed everything up now?

But Fluttershy hadn’t moved. She reacted at all, really, her eyes still intensely interlocked with Scootaloo’s. But only Scootaloo could see the tiny change in the pony she had grown to know recently. Across Fluttershy’s lips played the tiniest hint of a coy smile, tantalizing, challenging Scootaloo for more.

Scootaloo looked around, but not a single soul was about. No interruption. No excuse.

Scootaloo let Fluttershy’s warm breath play across her muzzle for a moment. Then she pressed their lips together again.

The kiss was lithe and unburdened. Neither of them tried to make anything more of it than it was, a simple and unadulterated show of mutual affection, expressed in the warm contact both of them fully enjoyed.

Fluttershy looked Scootaloo in the eyes, clearly and effortlessly, making Scootaloo feel very at ease with herself.

And then, Fluttershy smiled. And Scootaloo understood how much Fluttershy’s smiles meant. She didn’t give them easily, nor to anypony, but when she did, the smile was pure and genuine, intended solely as a tiny comfort to the very pony who was the recipient, but lingering with the sheer power to grace a pony’s very essence.

And that pony was none other than Scootaloo.

The kiss ended. Fluttershy collected the pacifier and put it back into Scootaloo’s mouth. Then Scootaloo received a little pat on the head, and the stroller resumed its rumble towards the unknown.

Whatever the unknown held, Scootaloo was with Fluttershy, and that fact gave her quite a bit of solace.