Our story today opens in Ponyville Hospital, where we find our heroes in the maternity ward.
The owners of Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, had been rushed to hospital when they had discovered that Mrs. Cake was in labor. Pinkie, their employee and tenant, had been watching the store while the foal was being delivered. Now, she and her friends were there to congratulate the new parents and see the foal. The seven of them were standing inside a room that had a large widow for a wall, allowing them to see a room filled with cribs that either had a blue or pink blanket bundle inside.
"Can you believe the new foal is finally here?" Applejack asked them, her eyes almost watering.
"Cup and Carrot Cake must be so proud." Twilight swooned, a big grin on her face.
"And exhausted if what I've heard about foalbirth is to be believed." Flash chuckled, only to then receive a smack from Twilight's tail.
"I wonder if it's a filly or a colt..." Rarity pondered, scratching her chin.
Meanwhile, Pinkie was practically vibrating with excitement as she looked at each of the foals one by one, trying to figure out which one was the Cakes'. "I wanna see the new foal!" she yelped, giddier than a filly on Heart's Warming Eve, "I wanna see! Which one is it?!"
Finally, Mr. Cake, a leggy earth pony with yellow fur and an orange mane and tail, stepped into the room. He trotted over to a pair of cribs, both having a foal in them, though one had a blue blanket, the other pink. He unwrapped the blue blanket first to reveal a cream coloured pegasus with a brown mane, "Meet our son, Pound Cake."
The baby let out a loud yawn as he flexed his wings, causing Flash and the girls to all go. "Awwwwww..."
Mr. Cake then moved over to the other crib and unwrapped the pink blanket, revealing a yellow unicorn with an orange mane. "And our daughter, Pumpkin Cake."
This took everypony by surprise.
"Two new foals for me to play with?" Pinkie asked in shock before grinning madly. "That's two-two-two times the fun! This is the greatest day ever!"
"Just try and stay calm Pinkie." Flash told her while not looking away from the foals. "Foals tend to cry when they're surprised. Trust me-huh?" He looked around, only to be staring at the dead air that Pinkie had once occupied. "What the-Where'd she go?" His friends all pointed at the window. Flash looked back inside, only to see Pinkie standing over to twins with a party hat and blower in possession.
"We need to celebrate your birthday babies!" she cheered happily.
"Oh boy," Flash facehoofed.
"You were just born today, woohoo!" She was about to blow her party blower, only for Nurse Redheart to show up and shush her.
"The foals are trying to sleep!" she hissed, grabbing the party blower out of her mouth.
"But I was just-"
"Shush."
"But-"
"Shush!"
Once she turned away, Pinkie looked around before tip hoofing over to the cribs and began to whisper sing. "Happy happy birthday, to you and you today-" She didn't get to finish as Redheart came back and glared at her. The next thing the group knew, they were watching the nurse drag Pinkie out of the room.
"I think it's best you wait till the Cakes bring them home before celebrating." Flash told her as he grabbed her poofy pink mane.
"I guess," Pinkie whimpered, her hair slightly drooping.
As Flash helped her up, the rest of the group were studying the new foals with raised eyebrows. Applejack was the first to question the twins. "Now how in tarnation is one of them twins a pegasus and the other one a unicorn?"
Mr. Cake shined a cheeky grin, his body slightly shaking as he did. "Easy! My great-great-great-great-grandfather was a unicorn and Cup Cake's great aunt's second cousin twice removed was a pegasus. That makes sense, right?"
"Not in the slightest," Flash deadpanned, getting another smack from Twilight.
Rainbow pumped her hooves. "Aw yeah! Just you wait, once little Pound Cake there gets his wings going, he'll be all over the place!" She zoomed around the room for emphasis.
"And be careful around Pumpkin Cake," Twilight told Mr. Cake as she pointed at the foal. "Baby unicorns have strange magic surges that come and go."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you and Mrs. Cake are up for this?" Flash added, concern also on his face. "I'm guessing you weren't expecting to raise two foals that are a different race from you."
"It may be a little different then what we had planned, but I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go." Mr. Cake replied with a determined grin.
"And if you do find yourselves unsure on what to do, you can always come to any of us for help." Twilight added, her friends nodding in agreement.
"Yeah," Flash continued before pointing to his friends. "Me, Rainbow and even Fluttershy can show Pound what he needs to know to fly. Rarity and Twilight can help Pumpkin learn to control her magic, while Applejack can help them stay in touch with their earth pony roots. Meanwhile, Pinkie can-" He didn't finish, as he saw that the pink party pony was missing again. "What the-where..." He didn't need to finish that question, as he realised where she must be before slowly turning back to the baby room.
Pinkie was back inside, holding an average sized chocolate cake in her hooves. She began whispering, "Quick, make a wish a blow out your candles, which is easy because there are zero candles! You are zero years old after all!"
"SHUSH!" Redheart hissed, causing Pinkie to accidently push her cake into her face. The rest of the group all chuckled at seeing this. That and seeing Redheart push her out of the room again.
As they watched this, Fluttershy spoke up, "Do you really think they'll be okay raising two foals?"
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Flash shrugged, waving her hoof. "After all, they've learned how to deal with Pinkie for Celestia knows how long. Two foals should be a snap."
Rainbow nodded. "He's right. What's the worse that could happen?"
One Month Later...
"And that's why you never say 'What's the worse that could happen?'" Flash explained as he flew over town, Springer sitting on his back as the two were carrying their saddlebag and backpack.
"So...there really was a pony named Murphy?" Springer asked with a skeptical eyebrow raise. "And he created that law?"
"Yeah...you'll have to ask Twilight about that one." Flash shrugged before landing just outside of Sugarcube Corner. Once Springer was down, he and Flash stepped inside the bakery, hearing a familiar voice singing.
"Happy monthiversary to you and you today!" Pinkie sang as she put a pair of party hats on the twins and some blowers in their mouths. "I can't believe you're already a month old! Time sure flies, doesn't it? It seems like only yesterday that you were born but now you're a month old today, hooray!"
"Catchy." Flash commented, getting the party pony's attention.
Pinkie quickly zipped in front of the duo, a huge grin on her face. "Hey Flash, hey Springer! What's up?!"
"Nothing much," Flash shrugged before putting his hoof around her shoulder. "Just wondering if you had any of those 'super sugar muffins' on you?"
Pinkie raised an eyebrow at this. "And why do you need to know whether I do or not?"
"We've been getting more and more reports about Timberwolf sightings near the edge of the forest," Flash explained, scratching the side of his ear as he did. "So...we're gonna be heading in there to check it out for ourselves. Figured if we do run into one of them and we're in a tight spot, 'Wild Sugar' Springer might be able to help."
"Oh..." Pinkie said, nodding. "Okay! Give me a minute." With that, she bounced towards the kitchen, leaving Flash and Springer with the foals.
"Hey there," Flash said to the babies while sticking his tongue out. The duo soon started laughing at the silly faces he was making.
After that, they crawled over to where Springer was standing and pulled him into a hug. "Hey!" the jakhowl yelped as they began to tighten their grip. "Not so...TIGHT! Aaah!" Springer felt the wind be squeezed out of him as the twins continued to hug him.
"Looks like somepony's got some new fans," Flash snickered, shining a cheeky grin.
"Yay," Springer said sarcastically as Pound batted his ear around and Pumpkin rubbed her face up against his tail. "Please stop doing that..."
"Awwww..." Pinkie cooed as she returned with a box balanced on her tail. "That's so cute!"
"I don't think Springer would agree with you," Flash replied, pointing at his partner.
"Get these things off of me!" Springer whined before his highly sensitive nose picked up on something disgusting. "Ugh..." he gasped, looking like he was about to puke. "What's that smell?!"
"I got it!" Mr. Cake yelled as he suddenly came out from the back of the store with a set of new diapers. He managed to get the foals off of Springer and placed them on a table, quickly doing some impressive moves with his mouth with the diapers before throwing the used diapers into a nearby trash can.
"Dude...that was hardcore." Flash complimented, clapping as he did.
"I know!" Mr. Cake replied as he placed the new diapers on the foals. "Squeaky clean and everything! Now, anypony hugry?" Mr. Cake asked as he quickly cleaned his hooves in the sink.
"Aw, no thanks Mr. Cake. I just had a big breakfast." Pinkie said, waving a hoof while patting her tummy with the other.
"He's talking about the foals Pinkie," Flash deadpanned, swatting Pinkie's poofy mane.
"I'm on it," Mrs. Cakes said as she exited the kitchen with two bottles of milk. Once she was at the table, she flicked her tail and threw the bottles into the air before they landed in her foals' mouths. A few seconds passed and the two were finished before they started making funny faces.
"Oh! Oh!" Pinkie cheered as she raised her hoof. "You're making funny faces! I have one!" She did said face, making everypony chuckle.
Mr. Cake shook his head. "No, no. You see Pinkie, the babies need to be burped." He picked them up and put them over his shoulder, patting them on the backs until they released the built up gas.
"You all good now?" Pinkie asked the foals, only to see the foals let out a cheer. "Yay! Who wants to play again?" With that, she ran off, followed by Pound and Pumpkin.
"Man, you guys have got this parenting thing down." Flash complimented, nodding in approval. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you two."
"I wouldn't say we've gotten everything under control," Mrs. Cake said with a chuckle. As if to show her point, Pound knocked over a tower of toy blocks before going to smash them. Luckily Mrs. Cake was there to stop him. "Ah! Pound Cake! No pounding things!" The baby just shined an innocent smile.
Meanwhile, Pumpkin was following Pinkie before noticing a bottle of baby powder on the floor, which she picked up and began biting on. "Ah! No no no!" Mr. Cake told his daughter while Mrs. Cake took the bottle. "We don't chew on things Pumpkin Cake!"
"Except food," Pinkie countered.
In that moment, Mrs Cake gasped as if she had realised something important. "Food! Great cinnamon sticks, I completely forgot!"
Pinkie giggled before giving a reassuring wave. "No you didn't sillies. You just fed them bottles, remember?"
"Not the baby's food!" Mrs. Cake replied.
Mr. Cake then caught on, panic quickly covering his face. "The food for the enormously big catering order we have to deliver today! We forgot about it!"
Springer gave a flat stare. "Seriously? How could you forget something like that?!"
"Springer!" Flash smacked the side of the jakhowl's head with his tail. "You have a pair of foals and see how well you remember stuff."
"He's right," Mrs. Cake cried as she started darting around the room. "With the new twins, we've been so distracted! We need to find a foalsitter to watch the foals while we take care of this!"
"I can do it!" Pinkie exclaimed happily, waving her hooves in the air. She was expecting the two to turn to her and ask, only to see a duo of frowns that then turned to Flash and Springer.
The apprentice knight laughed nervously, slowly picking up Springer and the muffin box. "You know...I think I hear Iron calling us," Flash barely chuckled before backpedaling. "So uh...yeah. I think have to, you know...gotta go, BYE!" With that, he shot out the door, leaving a smoke trail and a pair of bewildered parents behind.
Pinkie on the other hoof, just commented at the scene. "Wow, he sure can move when he wants to."
A few seconds later...
"WOOOOAAHHHHH!!!" Springer yelled as he barely held onto Flash's back as the pegasus took to the sky. "Slow down Flash! I'm gonna fall if you go any faster!"
Hearing this, Flash slowly came to a stop in the air, silently flapping his wings. "Sorry buddy." Flash said, turning his head to face his partner riding his back. "I just uh...wanted to get out of there before we get wrapped into...that."
"That?"
"Watching those foals." Flash shook his head. "Trust me buddy, we don't wanna get involved in foalsitting."
Springer tilted his head. "Why?"
"Well..."
The Past...
"You want me to what?" an orange pegasi colt asked a certain purple unicorn filly, confusion in his voice.
"I want you to foalsit Spike for me Flash." Twilight replied, a deadpan stare on her face. "I need you to do it for two hours, that's all."
The young version of Flash tried to backpedal, only to feel a certain magic aura around his ear. He chuckled nervously before asking, "But uh...why can't you ask Princess Celestia for a maid or somepony else to watch him?"
"I already asked. They're all busy." she countered in a 'This should be obvious' tone. She then tapped his chest, snorting as she did. "Listen, it'll only be for two hours Flash. Then, I'll be back from my test and I'll relieve you of foalsitting Spike. Okay?"
"But I don't-"
Twilight put her hoof over Flash's mouth. "I already asked and I know Grand Hoof isn't here today. You have no training today and mom and dad don't want you lazing around the house again." Twilight shined a somewhat smug smile before tapping her own chest. "So I decided that I could give you a task to do today."
"And that's watching Spike so you can take your test?" Flash asked, sarcasm dripping in his voice.
"That's right." Twilight nodded, ignoring his tone. She then pointed at the crib at the other side of the room. "Now, Spike is asleep and he'll probably be asleep for at least another hour. That means you'll only need to take care of him for one hour."
"But I-"
"And if you're wondering, I created eight different mathematical formulas to determine when Spike goes to sleep and wakes up in the day." Twilight interrupted before turning around and walking towards her room's bookcase. "It'll be easy Flash, you have nothing to worry about."
"Twilight, I'm not going to-ow!"
"Just do it Flash." Twilight growled, her magic quickly grabbing his ear. "Just watch over him, okay? It'll be a good learning experience."
"I-" Flash tired to say, only to go silent. It was here that he realized the cold stone fact that he wasn't escaping this. Letting out a long sigh, he turned and walked up to Spike's bed. "Fine..." he moaned in a defeated tone. "What do I need to do when he wakes up?"
"He'll probably want a gem or two to eat. I have a few in that bowl by the crib." Twilight commented as she started searching through a pile of books, not paying attention to the colt. "Just don't let him breathe fire on you."
Ten seconds later...
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Flash yelled as he ran in circles around the room as a baby dragon kept screaming, crying at the sudden awakening. "MY TAIL'S ON FIRE!!! MY TAIL'S ON FIRE!!! SPIKE LIT MY TAIL ON FIRE!!!"
"FLASH! WHY DID YOU WAKE HIM UP?!" Twilight screamed back, trying to calm Spike down at the same time.
"I DIDN'T! HE JUST SUDDENLY WOKE UP!"
"But I determined that-"
"THAT DOESN'T MATTER TWILIGHT!!!" Flash wailed, increasing his speed as he ran in circles. "MY TAIL IS ON FIRE! HELP ME!!!"
"Okay okay! All you need to do is put out the fire with some basic water. There should be some on my table in the back." Twilight replied, putting Spike over her shoulder as she hugged him, still trying to calm him down. "Its okay Spike, its okay."
"WATER! I NEED WATER!" Flash yelped in pain, only to see a set of beakers and flasks Twilight had placed on a nearby table as she instructed. He then saw something similar to water and grabbed the flask.
Twilight saw this and yelled, "Wait Flash! That's my experimental-"
But it was too late.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!! MY TAIL'S IS ON FIRE!!! AND NOW ITS SHOOTING FIREWORKS!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The Present...
"And that's why we shouldn't help them with the foals?" Springer asked, crossing his paws in slight skepticism. "That actually happened?"
"Yeah, it happened partner." Flash glared at him, his eyes narrowing. "It took a whole month for half of my tail to grow back. And it also means we're not going back to help." Flash then shrugged, giving a 'don't worry about it' gesture. "Besides, I'm betting they'll have Pinkie watch over them."
"And she'll be okay?"
"Oh yeah." Flash nodded. "I mean, this is Pinkie we're talking about. Even if things go wrong, she always has something or somepony that can help her."
Springer almost bit his lip. "I hope you're right..."
Meanwhile, at Ponyville train station...
"Ponyville!" the train conductor called out as the carriage doors opened for the train that had just arrived. "We have now arrived at Ponyville!"
As a small group of ponies walked out of the most recent arriving train, a certain dark blue coated and black mane and tailed unicorn walked out. His Cutie Mark was a large mouth that looked like it was smiling. The unicorn walked off the platform and scratched his chin, staring at the town in front of him. "So this is Ponyville..." he said with a small chuckle. "I was expecting a lot more crazy."
"Crazy, crazy!" A quintet of different colored wooden puppets repeated as they popped out of his saddlebag.
The unicorn laughed at their reaction before gesturing to his back. The puppets hopped onto his shoulder, and he pulled out a map before rubbing his chin again. "Okay little buddies, we're almost there. But, there isn't a train scheduled for home till tomorrow."
"Tomorrow, tomorrow!"
"Yeah yeah..." he replied as he rolled up the map and placed it back into the bag. "Come on, let's go find something fun to do before we retire to the inn. Maybe we'll find...her again."
Back at Sugarcube Corner...
Pinkie and the twins were watching Mr. and Mrs. Cake rush to get everything sorted. After learning that everypony, and I mean everypony, was busy today, the two new parents had begrudgingly agreed to allow Pinkie to babysit Pound and Pumpkin.
"Now Pinkie," Mr. Cake asked while jogging in place. "Are you sure you really understand the responsibility of watching over two foals?"
Pinkie shined her usual grin before giving a salute. "I can be responsible! Why, responsibility is by middle name. Pinkie Responsibility Pie!"
Mrs. Cake got up in her face, showing nothing but concern as she let out a small sigh. "But this time, you have to take care of them, not just play with them." She gave her a look that said she couldn't stress what she was about to say was enough. "You have to be responsible."
"Yes, I know." Pinkie replied with a nod. "I will."
Mrs. Cake obviously didn't believe her, but a sudden bell sound made her shove her worries to one side and rush into the kitchen. She came back out pushing a large cake before grabbing a scroll and tossing it to Pinkie. "Here, your responsibilities are on that list." The scroll hit the ground, only to unroll until it revealed itself to be over six feet long.
Pinkie's eyes went wide as she gasped at the sight. "Whoa! That's a lot of responsibilities to-" She stopped herself and saluted again. "Consider it done."
Once again, Mrs. Cake looked unsure, but a brief look at the time made her overlook her doubts. She then grabbed her husband before shoving the cake out the door. She glanced back inside one last time before saying, "Remember Pinkie, take good care of our two precious ginger snaps."
"No problemo Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie saluted once more, a huge smile on her face. "Everything is under control."
The bakers nodded before turning to leave. Seeing this, Pinkie shut the door before turning back to the two foals with a giant grin. And as she shined her grin, the foals didn't smile back. Instead, they began to go teary eyed before bursting out crying. Pinkie's expression dropped as she had just realized exactly what she had just signed up for. "Uh oh."
"Don't cry little guys," Pinkie said before she shot into the kitchen, "look look!" She hid behind the wild west doors. "Where's Pinkie Pie, where's Pinkie Pie?" The twins just stared at the door before looking back at each other and once again bursting into tears. "Oh no, oh no!" Pinkie yelped as she came back to the foals, making several silly faces at the twins. "I'm right here, see?" Unfortunately, the crying kept happening. "No no no! Please don't cry!" she tried, only for the volume to increase. The pink pony then rubbed the side of her head in slight panicked frustration. "Think Pinkie, think!"
"Cheer up, cheer up!" said a sudden voice. Pinkie tried to find the voice's owner, only to see five different colored wooden dolls flying over the twins heads. Seeing this, the two fouls started to giggle, causing Pinkie to sigh in relief.
"Thank goodness, they finally stopped crying." she commented as she took a second look at the dolls. "But where did those come from...wait, I know those dolls."
"Long time no see, little lady."
Pinkie spun around and saw somepony standing at the door. It was the dark blue unicorn, whose horn was glowing as he made the puppets float in the air. "Wild Smile?" Pinkie gasped before bouncing over to him, "What are you doing here?"
Pinkie had met Wild Smile during the Battle of Canterlot, where he had been under the control of the power hungry Lightning Blitz. The two had fought, where Wild Smile was using a toy store to arm himself with toys that he used as weapons by placing the five souls he controlled inside them. Despite this, Pinkie beat him and broke the mind control, which she then instantly tried to become friends with him.
"I was passing by when I heard the sound of foals crying." Wild replied, crossing his hooves with a cocky smirk. "I hate the sound of foals crying."
"Same here." Pinkie said, nodding. "So...what are you doing in Ponyville?"
"I had a show in a little town a bit aways from here." Wild explained, "There's no train between there and Canterlot, so I had to take a connecting train." Wild gave her a small wink. "The train home is tomorrow afternoon, so I thought I would try hanging out here in Ponyville. You know, see what makes it so special."
"Ooh...okay!" Pinkie said happily, giggling. "Don't worry, Ponyville is really special, trust me. Heck, I would be happy to show you around, but..."
"You're foalsitting," Wild guessed.
"Exactly," Pinkie nodded. "Though the Cakes will be back in a few hours, so I can show you around then."
"Cool," Wild said while his puppets repeated the world. "Mind if I hang out here until then?"
"Sure," Pinkie nodded again. She then turned around and saw that the twins were still watching Wild's puppets dance. Seeing this, Pinkie decided to now look at the scroll which had all her responsibilities on it. "Next is...snack time. Sounds easy enough."
"You want some help?" Wild asked.
"Nah, I got it." Pinkie picked the twins up and placed them inside their foal highchairs before moving over the fridge. Wild watched as the twins became impatient, Pumpkin chewing on her own hoof and Pound banging his on the chair. "Okey dokey, time to eat!" Pinkie said as she placed two bowls on the foals' chairs. The two foals just stared down at the bowls of slop, before looking back up at Pinkie with a confused look. "Like this," the earth pony picked up a bowl and mimicked eating. "Num-num-num, num-num-num-num."
Wild just snickered before moving over to them. "Here, let me show you." He used his magic to lift up a spoon before dipping it into the food and bringing it back up. "Here comes the zeppelin," he said as he moved the spoon towards Pound. His puppets flew around and began making zeppelin noises. Pound was so transfixed by the spoon and noise that he didn't cause a fuss and Wild was able to plant the spoon inside. Seconds later, they saw the male twin swallow and Wild pulled the spoon out, before repeating the process.
"Oh..." Pinkie gasped before doing the same with Pumpkin. "Silly me."
"Is this your first time foalsitting?" Wild asked.
"Yeah." Pinkie nodded slowly. "I'm uh...I'm trying to show that I can be responsible."
"Well, it's a good thing that I showed up when I did." Wild remarked, causing Pinkie to raise an eyebrow at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Pinkie asked in a low tone.
"Taking care of a foal is a lot of hard work," Wild explained as he finished feeding Pound and wiped his mouth. "Especially two at once. It's a lot to handle for somepony if they don't know what they're doing."
"And I don't know what I'm doing?" Pinkie replied, her eyes starting to narrow. Wild just lifted Pound's bowl in response before gesturing to the foal. Pinkie instantly knew what he was implying, he was saying Pound would have just pushed the bowl aside if he hadn't interfered. In response, Pinkie mane began to deflate. "Okay...maybe I don't know what I'm doing all the time."
"That's why you need help." Wild stated flatly.
"Help, help," his puppets repeated.
"You need somepony who's experienced when it comes to foals. You know, sompony that can show you everything you need to know."
"And you think you're that somepony?" Pinkie asked, a bit of surprise on her face.
"I'm a puppeteer," Wild said with his tongue sticking out. "It's my job to understand how young ponies think and keep them happy. Besides, I'm the oldest of eight cousins with the next oldest being almost ten years younger than me. I've had my fair share of foalsitting."
Pinkie thought about this for a moment. She could tell he was here to help, but she didn't want him to do everything. "Okay," she said while tapping her chin before pointing at him. "I'll let you help, but only when I really need it."
"Deal." Wild said with a shrug. "You do what you do, and I'll stick to the back."
"Good," Pinkie nodded before moving back to the list. "Now, what's next? Let's see...ah! Its bath time!" she exclaimed as she turned back to them.
Wild shined a small smirk. "Alright. How do you wanna handle it?"
Pinkie thought for a moment before shrugging. "I guess I'll just bathe them together. That way, I can keep an eye on both of them." She moved over to the twins and took them out of their highchairs before taking them upstairs to the bathroom, quickly starting the bath.
Following her up there, Wild started commenting, "Here's a tip, make sure the water's only slightly above room temperature. Foal fur isn't as insulated as fully grown ponies, so they can burn easier."
"Got it," Pinkie said as she shifted between keeping the babies calm and checking the temperature of the bath water. Once the bath was finally ready, Pinkie turned towards the foals and tried to grab them. However, as she did, the foals quickly hopped into the air and to the floor, running as soon as the touched solid ground.
"Whoa!" Wild yelped as he tried to grab Pound, only for the foal to blitz past his hooves. "Hang on there speedy!" He tried another grab, only for the foal to go between his hooves, causing Wild to trip and kiss the floor.
"You okay?" Pinkie asked as she tried to make a grab for Pumpkin. "Can't you just levitate them into the tub?"
"No." Wild replied as he got up, "Trust me, one of the first things I learned was to never levitate a foal. It seriously stresses them out."
"Oh great," Pinkie grumbled before seeing a certain foal nibbling at a nearby towel, her twin about to go for the cloth-snack as well. "No Pumpkin, towels are not food! And don't you try to eat the towel either Pound."
Seeing Pinkie and Wild, Pound and Pumpkin both began to run together, Pumpkin having a towel in her mouth as she did. Pinkie quickly started pursuing them as Wild ran around the room. "Try and steer them towards the bath," Wild told her as he jumped in front of the duo, causing the two to split and go in different directions. "Shoot!"
"Great work," Pinkie said sarcastically as she chased after Pumpkin.
"Give me a break, would ya?" Wild replied as he raced after Pound, "I've never had to do this with two foals before."
"I thought you were the foalsitting master?" Pinkie asked as she leapt for Pumpkin, only for the unicorn baby to turn at the last moment and make her face plant the wall.
Wild would have responded, but thanks to him wanting to reply to Pinkie's comment, he had lost track of Pound. "Um..." he muttered before hearing a baby's giggle coming from underneath an overturned wicker trashcan. Using his magic, he lifted it up, revealing Pound hidden within. The baby smiled before shooting off, but Wild managed to grab him by the tail. "Got one!" he said as he held the foal up, his puppets repeating what he said as they flew around him.
Seeing this made Pinkie redouble her efforts, launching herself at Pumpkin and catching her before they both went rolling towards the tub. "Gotcha!" a very dizzy Pinkie said before getting up and plopping the foal in the water, Wild doing the same with her brother.
Once they were in the water, the two once again began to cry. Pinkie's eyes shrunk as she heard the crying again before turning to Wild. "Now what do we do?"
Wild gave her a cautious shrug. "Baths are one of the things almost all foals hate. All you can do is keep cleaning until you're done or they settle down."
"That's no good. There's gotta be something I can do," Pinkie replied as she started splashing her hoof in the water. Here, another idea popped into her brain. She put her hoof in the water and raised it up, showing that it was now covered in foam. "Look, you two! Bubbles!" She blew on her hoof and the bubbles floated in the air, causing the twins to stop crying and stare at the bubbles with happy grins. Seeing their smiles, Pinkie dunked her head in and made herself a bubble beard, which made the twins even more happy as they watched the bubbles get closer.
"That's good, but let's just hope they don't-" Wild tried to say before the bubbles began to pop, upsetting the twins once again. "Do that."
"Do that, do that."
"Don't cry," Pinkie pleaded as she picked up a rubber duck and showed it to the twins. "Look, look, floaty things." She placed the duck in the water, which made the twins once again happy. Seeing this as a sign, Pinkie rushed out and then returned a second later with more bath toys. This was followed by several beach toys, a small sail boat and finally, a river raft. Seeing this and rolling his eyes, Wild decided to take a few of them out while she was gone. All that was left was the duck, a few boats and a crocodile.
"Alright Pinkie, you keep them distracted and I'll clean them."
"Got it," Pinkie nodded, quickly grabbing the toys with a big smile. For the next few minutes, Pinkie played with the foals while Wild gently worked to scrub them down. It didn't take long till the two foals were squeaky clean and the older ponies got them out of the tub. With that out of the way, they took the twins to their rooms.
"Alright, what's next?" Pinkie tried to ask before her nose got the answer. "Uh-oh, smells like somepony needs a new diapy wipy."
"Diapy wipy, diapy wipy."
"Do you know how to change one?" Wild asked.
"Yeah." Pinkie said with a tinge of confidence. "I've watched the Cakes do it a hundred times."
"Then go ahead," Wild said as he levitated a pair of fresh ones to her.
Pinkie gulped before taking them and tip hoofing towards the foals, trying to not reveal her intentions to them. However, Pound decided to take this moment to look around, only to see Pinkie with the clean diapers. He immediately alerted Pumpkin, and the twins both smiled, thinking their favorite playmate was wanting to play a game. Seeing this, the two quickly shot off in different directions.
"Oh, come on!" Pinkie groaned as she quickly started chasing them, Wild also following suite. "Come back here Pound!"
As she raced toward the colt, Wild quickly grabbed Pumpkin as she tried to leave the room. "Gotcha!"
"Gotcha, gotcha," the puppets repeated.
"Pound! Come out of there young colt!" Pinkie commanded as she put her head behind the nearby dresser. Pound had ran over to the piece of furniture, thinking it was a good hiding spot. Pinkie gave him a serious glare before leaping behind the dresser, grabbing the colt in one fell swoop. "Not so tough on your own, are you?" She asked as she placed him on the dresser, quickly changing the diaper the way she had seen Mr. and Mrs. Cake do it.
Once she was done with the male twin, she handed him to Wild while taking the still struggling female twin and repeating the process. "Phew..." she said once it was done, wiping her brow as she placed Pumpkin on the floor next to Pound. "Really hope I don't need to do that again."
"You said their parents wouldn't be back until later today, right?" Wild asked.
"Yeah." she nodded.
"Then I hate to say it, but you'll probably need to do it at least four more times." he assured her.
"Four more times, four more times."
Pinkie let out a low whine, only to then hear a ringing that Pinkie recognized as the doorbell. "They're home!" she exclaimed before racing downstairs.
"Whoa, hang on! Why would they ring their own doorbell?" Wild asked as he picked up the twins, trying to follow the speeding mare. As he did, he instead found Pinkie sitting at the door, staring at a familiar purple unicorn.
"Twilight?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi Pinkie." Twilight replied with a small smile. "I finished up the work I had to do and I heard from Flash about what you were doing. So, I thought I would stop by and see if you need any help."
"Oh. Well, you can come in if you want." Pinkie replied with a slight shrug. "But I think we've got things covered."
"We?" Twilight asked as she looked around.
"What's up Sparkle?" Wild answered as he came downstairs, both foals on his back.
Surprise covered Twilight's face. "Wild Smile? What are you doing here?"
"Long story shot," Wild said as he put the twins down. "I was in town and just so happened to find Pinkie foalsitting. Thought I would try helping her out."
"I see..." Twilight slowly replied as she looked around. It was only now that Wild and Pinkie saw what a mess the place was, with toys and baking equipment scattered around the floor. "So...how is everything going?" She asked as she used her magic to clean up the mess.
"Not as bad as it could be," Wild shrugged, motioning for his puppets to distract the twins.
"Tell me about it," Pinkie moaned, "I'd hate to think how bad it would have been if Wild hadn't shown up."
"Well, looking after foals is a lot of work. Especially twins Pinkie." Twilight responded as she levitated the baking supplies to the kitchen.
"That's what I said." Wild scoffed, only to get a narrow glare from Pinkie.
"It looks like you're doing okay," Twilight commented as she put the last of the supplies up.
"You doubted me?" Pinkie joked, before seeing Twilight's face. "You did doubt me?"
"Maybe a little," Twilight replied. Pinkie frowned at this, making Twilight nervous.
"Excuse me?" Pinkie asked, her eyebrows almost narrowing.
"It's nothing against you," she explained while shaking her head. "Its just...well, foals take a lot of responsibility."
"I'm responsible," Pinkie said, patting her chest in confidence.
"Yeah." Wild added with a nod. "She's been doing great, even if it is her first time."
Twilight tried to say something, only for Pinkie to start pushing her towards the door. "Well, thanks for stopping by Twilight. Sorry, but I don't have time to hang around. I'm very very busy with my responsibilities here."
"I'm happy to help, but-" Twilight tried to say, only to find herself outside of the shop with one final push.
"I've got Wild Smile for that!" She yelled before slamming the door. "Of all the-she thinks I can't handle things on my own!"
Wild saw this and remembered when he first did this with his family. He scratched the side of his head before saying, "Errr...maybe she was just concerned and thought you might have been overwhelmed?"
"Overwhelmed, overwhelmed."
Pinkie shot up and glared at him in the face, causing the puppeteer to chuckle nervously.
"But of course, she could also be totally wrong." he corrected.
"Wrong, wrong."
Pinkie continued to glare at him before sighing and moving away. "No, she's right. I'm barely handling myself, and that's with you helping me. I'd hate to think what would have happened if I didn't have you here showing me what to do and fixing my mistakes." She let out a small whimper. "Heck, knowing me, I probably would have ended up covered in flour somehow."
Wild chuckled at her comment, followed by his puppets. This sight made Pinkie giggle as well. As she giggled, Wild shook his head before pointing to the twins. "Like I said before, foalsitting is tough work the first time you try it."
"Especially with twins," Pinkie finished for him.
"Exactly. But you're doing great. Now, what's next on the list?"
Pinkie nodded and took out the list. "Nap time."
"Should be simple enough," Wild shrugged, motioning for his puppets to stop distracting the twins. "Let's get 'em to their cribs."
"Right." Pinkie nodded before grabbing the two. One transition to their room later, she plopped the duo in their cribs, only for the foals to just look at her with blank faces. She watched back as the two fouls sat there, obviously expecting something. "Umm...go on you two, sleepy time."
Wild and his friends just chuckled as they stepped inside the room. "They ain't gonna just go to sleep." Wild said with a slight laugh. "You gotta get them in the mood to sleep."
"How?" Pinkie asked in bewilderment. "After all that running they did, they should be exhausted."
Wild shook his head. "Why don't you let me handle this? Getting kids to sleep is one of my specialities."
"Your puppet shows are that boring?" Pinkie joked with a raised eyebrow.
"Very funny." Wild deadpanned as he went over to the cribs. He then began motioning towards his puppets. "Alright little buddies, let's begin. Now, today's story is..."
Deciding to let him do his thing, Pinkie rushed downstairs and started cleaning up the mess that they had made earlier. She already regretted making Twilight leave, as she saw what the unicorn had already cleaned up with the baking supplies. Letting out a sigh, she began, starting with the task of cleaning up the foals highchairs, empting out the diaper pin and rinsing out the upstairs bath tub. "This responsibility thing is hard work," Pinkie commented as she finished the with the bathtub. "Whew...I sure am glad Wild is here."
After this, she stepped into the foals room to check on Wild, who had moved some of his puppets souls into some of the twin's toys. Even Gummy was getting in on the fun. "And so, the great knights Pound and Pumpkin got atop their mighty alligator and rode off into the sunset." Wild placed the two puppets he was using onto Gummy's back, before using his magic to push the alligator across the ground. The twins both giggled at this, before they both began yawning. Seeing this, Wild smirked as he whispered. "Alright you two, bed time." He laid the twins down and magicked their blankets over them, before picking up his puppets and turning to the door.
"That was great," Pinkie said quietly.
"Told you." Wild whispered with his tongue sticking out, "My stories are so exciting that anypony who watches gets too exhausted to stay awake."
Pinkie chuckled at this, before they exited the room and went down the hall. They both sat down in one of restaurant's booths, where Pinkie asked if Wild wanted a drink. He said no and the two sat there for a bit, an awkward silence soon following. Even Wild's puppets didn't make any noise, as they all went back into his saddlebag.
Then, as the two sat there, Pinkie slowly spoke up, "You know, I uh..." she tried to say as she fiddled with her hooves. "Um...thank you for helping today. I'd be dead in the water if it hadn't been for you."
"No problem." Wild shrugged, slightly patting his bag. "I told you before, I can't stand hearing foals cry."
Pinkie did a slight gulp. "You know, you're a lot different from how you acted during the Battle of Canterlot...no offense."
"Its cool," Wild shrugged again, a barely noticeable grimace on his face. "To be honest, I don't even remember what I did during that time. Its uh...made being in Canterlot a bit more awkward."
"Is that why you were doing a show out of town?"
Wild nodded. "Yeah. The whole battle at Canterlot has put uh...bad light on me, Solid and Gorgenia. It also doesn't help that none of us remember what happened."
"So, you don't remember telling me about how your puppet's souls appeared?" Pinkie asked, a small frown on her face.
Wild just gave her a look of surprise. "I told you that?"
"Just that you were always alone until you started hearing voices," Pinkie replied, nodding.
"Well, it's not exactly just that." Wild bit his lip as he began to explain. "Like I said, I have a lot of cousins that are much younger than me. I was always foalsitting them and they always cried and cried, and...I hated it. I couldn't stand that I had to watch over them so much, and I didn't have any friends at the time. That is, till one day, it all changed. I don't know how it happened, but I started hearing the voices, which I eventually realised were the souls of my little buddies." Wild smiled affectionately at his saddlebag, knowing his friends were in there. "Once I learned that I could put them in objects, I realised I could use them to entertain my cousins. Tch...I still remember that first time I tried to do a puppet show for them. I was so nervous...but, as it went on, my cousins all started laughing and cheering for my stories. By the end of it, I got a loud round of applause and my heart almost exploded when I saw them all smile. Before I could react, my cutie mark showed up and I knew my purpose in life."
"Awwww..." Pinkie said with a big grin. "That's such a cute story! It kinda reminds me of how I got my cutie mark."
Wild was about to ask how she got it, but-
CRASH!
The duo heard the noise and rushed back to the twins' room, flinging the door open. Once inside, they rushed to the cribs, only for the two ponies to almost have a heart attack at the sight.
Pound and Pumpkin were gone.
"Oh no no no no!" Pinkie cried as she began looking all over the two cribs. "Not good, not good, not good."
"How?!" Wild asked in disbelief. "They were asleep!"
"Obviously not," Pinkie replied as she began looking around the room.
"Obviously not, obviously not."
Wild glared up at his five puppets, who had came out of his saddlebag. "You guys ain't helping. Make yourselves useful and help us find them." With that, the puppets flew around the room, looking for the two missing twins.
"Pound? Pumpkin?" Pinkie called out hysterically, "Where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are."
"I'll tell you another story," Wild added as he opened the drawers of a nearby dresser.
Suddenly, a squeaking sound caught their attention, making them turn to a nearby closet. They shared a glance and tip hoofed towards the closet before Wild magically opened it and peaked inside. Pumpkin was inside, chewing on a rubber chicken that was drenched in his drool.
"How did you get in there?" Wild asked.
"Who cares?" Pinkie grumbled as she picked up the baby and placed him back in her crib. "Now you be a good little girl Pumpkin-wumpkin and stay in your crib for your pal Pinkie-winkie."
Wild tapped the side of the crib. "I'll keep an eye on her. You go find Pound."
"On it," Pinkie said as she shot out the room.
"Alright buddies, circle formation." He and his puppets surrounded the baby filly, not daring to blink for fear of her disappearing. In the background, Wild heard Pinkie banging around the store as she continued to look for the missing colt.
A few minutes later, she returned. "I can't find him anywhere!"
"Could he have gotten outside?"
"No way," Pinkie replied with a shake of her head. "He can't reach the handle."
"She did with the closet," Wild said, pointing at Pumpkin. "And she doesn't have...wings..."
Wild stopped himself as the two started hearing hoofsteps. That is, above them. Slowly, the two adult ponies looked up and gasped at what they saw. It was Pound Cake...on the ceiling.
"No way," Wild said.
"You can fly?!" Pinkie screamed. She switched on the light before leaping up, trying to grab Pound. "Get...down...here...this...instant...young...colt!" She finally stopped and crashed to the ground. "I'm responsible for you!"
"Calm down." Wild told her as he helped her up. "If you keep doing that, you'll just hurt yourself."
"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Pinkie asked, panic obvious in her tone. "You said you can't use magic on them!"
"Maybe not on them," Wild said as his horn lit up. The next thing Pinkie knew, she was enveloped in a gray aura and began floating.
"Now we're talking," Pinkie chuckled as she reached out and grabbed Pound before Wild brought them down. As they landed, they turned back to Pumpkin, only to see her reaching for a toy outside of her crib. Before they could react, Pumpkin's horn began to glow a soft blue aura and a butterfly toy began to fly towards her. Pinkie and Wild both felt their jaws drop, Pinkie accidently releasing Pound, who began to fly again as they watched more and more toys begin to float around Pumpkin.
"I'm guessing this is the magical surge I heard Twilight talk about?" Pinkie asked as her eyes shrunk at the sight.
"Yeah..." Wild gulped. "But I've never seen one this strong before."
Pinkie moved over to Pumpkin and pulled the butterfly toy out of her mouth. "No, no, no Pumpkin," she told her as she put the toy away, only for Pumpkin to magic another toy into her mouth. "No, no," she once again removed the toy, only for Pumpkin to do it with another. "No!" Pinkie grabbed the last toy and threw them inside the room's toy chest. "I am the responsible one, and I said no!" She moved at Pinkie speed around the chest, locking it with several chains and a padlock. She turned around, only to see a certain flying colt. "That goes for you too Pound Cake!"
Wild levitated Pinkie into the air, her hooves instantly grabbing the colt. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed as Wild tried to bring her down, only for Pound to speed up and turn it into a game of tug of war. "Whoa!" Pinkie yelped as she was starting to feel like a plate of silly putty as she began getting stretched out as the two males fought.
"This kid's strong!" Wild growled as he kept pouring more magic into the pull. "What are they feeding him?!"
The two continued to try and overpower the other, knowing that eventually one would give. Turns out, that one was Wild, who finally lost his magical grip and sent Pinkie flying out of the room. The resulting loss of magic caused Wild to fling backwards into a pile of dirty blankets. As Wild pulled himself out of the pile, he heard several loud noises coming from downstairs. Eventually, the noises grew louder, only for the two to fly back into the room. As they did, Pinkie's tail got caught on the door, causing her to yelp in pain before releasing Pound. The colt then began to fly over Pumpkin, causing the filly to want to fly as well. That is, till her horn glowed and her body began to float.
"Not you too!" Pinkie moaned, pulling her tail out of the door.
"These are two of the most powerful foals I've ever had to deal with," Wild said as he watched the two fly. "Holy cow, just who are their parents?"
Pinkie grabbed a nearby basket and rushed over to the flying foals, netting the two of them to the floor. Once that was done, Wild grabbed some nearby duct tape and taped the basket cage to the floor.
"There!" Pinkie said, her eyes looking slightly crazed.
"Just try getting out of that," Wild told them.
The two foals stared at each other. Seeing this, Pumpkin's horn lit up again along with the basket before she simply walked though the net. Pinkie and Wild both stared at this before seeing Pound just push the top into the tape let out, freeing him.
"I had to challenge them." Wild said, facehoofing.
"Challenge them, challenge them."
A second later, the two foals were back at the toy chest, trying to get the toys out. With this sight in front of her, Pinkie hit her breaking point. She burst out crying, tears flowing down her face. The sound made the foals look at her, seeing her bawled her eyes out. Wild made a small gulp while the foals looked at each other in disbelief. Wild felt sorry for her, knowing how much she wanted to show what she was capable of. Then, he noticed Pound and Pumpkin moving towards her, before stopping in front of her. Pinkie stopped crying and looked down at the twins, wondering what trouble they would cause next. However, the two foals instead threw their arms around her in a hug.
Pinkie couldn't help it. She started crying again as she hugged them back.
Everything seemed to quiet down after that. The twins were more behaved and even went to sleep, this time with both caretakers watching over them. As they took turns watching, they cleaned up the new mess that had been made before Pinkie decided to write a letter to Princess Celestia about responsibility.
All was finally well.
Later that night, Mr. and Mrs. Cake were returning from there catering job. They opened the door, expecting to see a giant mess, only to see the place spotless. "Are we in the right place?" Mr. Cake asked his wife.
"I'm...not sure." Mrs. Cake replied, slightly gulping.
"Ah! You must be the Cakes." said a new voice as it approached the couple. The two looked at each in slight confusion, as they had never seen the stallion before them.
"W-we are. Who are you and why are you in our house?"
"Name's Wild Smile. I'm a friend of Pinkie's."
"I see...nice to meet you." Mr. Cake said as the two walked inside. "And where is Pinkie?"
"Up here," a whispered voice replied.
They looked up, quickly seeing Pinkie at the top of the stairs. She gestured for them to come up, which they soon obeyed and walked up the stairs. Soon, they found themselves glancing at the twin's room, seeing the two foals sleeping side by side in the same crib.
Mrs. Cake gasped at the sight. "Pinkie...this is just..."
"Amazing." Mr. Cake finished. "We had no idea how responsible you really are."
"Thanks. But I had a little help." Pinkie giggled before pointing at Wild.
Wild just waved his hoof. "It was Pinkie who managed to do it in the end. I was just lending a helping hoof."
"We're sorry we ever doubted you Pinkie." Mrs. Cake told her.
"Absolutely." Mr. Cake nodded in agreement. "Would you be interested in becoming our go to foalsitter on a permanent basis?"
Pinkie froze in fear, obviously not wanting to go through what she had gone through today again. "Um, er, let me check my schedule." She pulled out a notepad and pretended to read it. "I should be available a week from...never!"
Wild and his puppets chuckled at this until they heard Pound and Pumpkin's happy dream laughs.
"Pinkie..." Pound mumbled.
"Pie..." Pumpkin mumbled.
Hearing this melted Pinkie's heart, making her forget about the chaos and turn to the Cakes.
"I have some free time next Tuesday." Pinkie said with a smile.
"Brilliant." Mr. Cake replied.
Seeing this, Wild headed to the front door, his puppets following him. As he did, he spoke up, "Well, we best be heading out."
"Heading out, heading out."
"Do you have some place to stay?" Mrs. Cake asked as she came downstairs as well, meaning to head into the kitchen.
"I'm sure I'll find a hotel or something." Wild replied.
Pinkie quickly appeared beside him. "I know of one, I can take you there."
"Don't trouble yourself," Wild said, waving his hoof.
"Oh no you don't!" Pinkie grabbed his hoof, causing Wild to almost start blushing. "After all the help you've given me today, it's the least I can do then to help you to the hotel!"
"A-a-alright...." Wild replied with a weak chuckle.
And so, Pinkie and Wild stepped into the night, heading towards the hotel Pinkie had mentioned. As they continued to walk the poorly lit streets, Pinkie spoke up, "Hey um...I know I said it earlier, but thanks for today. I really am glad you came by when you did." Her mane started to deflate as she looked away from the stallion. "I doubt I would have lasted as long if you hadn't been there."
"Its cool. Don't worry about it."
"Don't worry, don't worry!"
"Sorry you had to see me crack," Pinkie said, blushing as she did.
"I told you, don't worry about it." Wild told her, shining a small grin. "You're not the first caregiver I've seen break out in tears. Though you did take a lot longer than most, and that's usually with only one foal."
Pinkie giggled at this. "Thanks. Say, what time is your train tomorrow?"
"Late afternoon. Why?"
"Just wanted to know how long we have to hang out until you have to go home."
"Cool..." Wild replied, a small smirk appearing on his face. "You know, this place is pretty different from Canterlot. I wouldn't mind coming back."
"I'd like that." Pinkie said before coming to a stop. She pointed at a building in front of them. "Here we are."
"Nice." Wild glanced at the building before turning back to Pinkie. "So...see ya around? Maybe tomorrow morning?"
"Sure!" Pinkie nodded. "Come by Sugarcube Corner and I'll make you some sweets for your trip back to Canterlot!"
"Sounds good." Wild turned back, only to feel a tug on his left hoof. "Hmm?"
"Wild?"
"Yeah?"
Then Wild felt it. It was a small kiss on his cheek. He felt his whole face burn up as he felt the split-second lips of the party pony touch his face. He turned again, only to see a blushing Pinkie as she said, "Thanks again." She then turned around and gave one last grin before trotting off. "See ya tomorrow!"
"Uh...yeah." Wild gasped, barely waving his hoof as he watched her disappear into the night. He then rubbed the side of his face in disbelief. "Wow...what a mare."
With that, Wild walked into the hotel, an even bigger grin on his face. Today was a good day for the fun-loving pony and he couldn't wait for the days ahead.