Tender Taps always enjoyed the visits he received from his Aunt Hoofer Steps, a talented young mare who ran her own dancing school to teach any eager colts and fillies. Though still relatively new to Ponyville she adapted quite quickly to many of the customs of the small town, and appreciated the fact that she could see her favorite nephew whenever she wanted.
But Tender was a shy little colt who didn’t have a lot of friends. In a lot of ways his aunt was the closest thing he had to one and he looked up to her quite often. It wasn’t long before he started making this known. “Wanna be like Auntie.” He declared.
When Hoofer Steps heard about this she was quite delighted, though at the same time she knew there wasn’t much her nephew could do to make him more like her. There was one thing, however, that she could try to do to make it so they had something in common. “You want to be more like me, Tender Taps?” She asked him one day. “Then perhaps it is time you learned how to be a big pony.”
“Oh boy! I get to be a big pony!” Tender Taps cheered with delight, before he looked up at his aunt with a confused expression. “How am I gonna be a big pony like you, Auntie?”
Hoofer smiled, particularly because of the fact that she was foalsitting her nephew and thus had the freedom to attempt things she might not have been able to do otherwise. “Is simple. First I take off your diaper and take you to bathroom. Then I show you what big ponies do when they have to go.”
“Give up diapers?” Tender questioned.
Hoofer nodded as she bent down and effortlessly removed the padding from her nephew’s rump. “Yes, Tender Taps. Big ponies do not wear diapers. Come with me to the bathroom and I shall explain.”
The two earth ponies made their way to the bathroom (Tender clumsily waddling about since he was not used to moving without a diaper on), and Hoofer soon had her nephew facing a rather strange device. It looked like a box shaped with a slight bend to it, and there was a little hole and some water. Next to it was a small nozzle and a tile that stood out for being colored bright white. “Is time you learned how to use the toilet, Tender Taps.”
“Toilet?” The little colt blinked as he looked at the strange contraption, unsure what to make of it. It wasn’t much bigger than him but it smelled funny (and not the good kind of funny either).
Hoofer Steps nodded again as she trotted over. “Yes, Tender Taps. Toilet. Big ponies use this instead of diapers. And now I shall teach you how to use it.”
Tender Taps whimpered. “I don’t wanna, Auntie. I don’t like it.”
Hoofer wasn’t persuaded for a second by her nephew’s protest. “You want to be a big pony, no?” When her nephew nodded she firmly answered. “Then you must use the toilet like big ponies do. Is nothing to be afraid of, using it is quite simple. It's like a dance. There are steps you take to line up just right, then you do whatever you must do. Once you’ve gone I shall teach you how to clean up, and how to complete what earth ponies call ‘bottomless training’. Are you ready to make your first attempt?”
Forcing back a gulp Tender reluctantly nodded. “Splendid! Let us begin!” Hoofer clapped her hooves together before clearing her throat and adopting the tone of voice she frequently used when instructing her dance students. “First, move your hooves until your rump is hovering over the opening. Listen to my voice and move where I tell you to move them.”
“Okay.” Tender Taps nodded as he stood a ways back from the toilet with his back now turned to it.
Hoofer Steps proceeded to use a series of instructions to get her nephew’s hooves to line up where they should be. “That’s it, Tender! Keep it up, almost there!” She encouraged. The little colt occasionally turned his head and could see every time he did so that he was getting closer to his target. He was still unsure about using it, but he owed it to his absolute favorite aunt to at least make an honest effort.
Suddenly, Hoofer noticed that her nephew’s hooves were getting too close to a tile of some kind. “Tender Taps, move your hooves left a bit!” She warned. But it was too late!
Tender felt one of his hooves step onto the tile and the sound of a click following before a roar reached his ears. And his tail suddenly began to feel wet and heavy, as though something had taken hold of it. Looking down, he saw that he accidentally stepped onto the colored tile. And now it felt like some kind of suction was pulling on his tail, dragging him backward toward the toilet! “Auntie, help! Toilet’s got me!” He cried in fear!
Hoofer Steps quickly trotted over to free her nephew’s tail from the drain. Thankfully it was only a little wet. “The pedal you just stepped on triggers a flush,” She explained. “You only flush when you are done using the toilet. And now you know why you must watch not only where you put your hooves but also your tail.”
“It tried to eat me, Auntie!” Tender whimpered in fear.
“No it didn’t, Tender. Toilets do not eat ponies,” Hoofer corrected. “At worst your tail might have gotten stuck if I had not been here. So long as you watch your tail and do not step on the flush pedal by accident again, accidents like that shall not happen. I shall help line you up properly for the next attempt, for one does not give up the first time they do not succeed.”
“O-okay, Auntie Hoofer,” Tender reluctantly replied as he was helped into the proper standing position over the toilet. It wasn’t exactly fun to be standing there for what felt like ages, but eventually he was rewarded for his efforts when a familiar smell reached his nostrils. “All done.” He said once he was certain he was finished.
Hoofer applauded her nephew, as if she was rewarding a student for a perfectly performed dance routine. “Splendid job, Tender Taps. Simply fantastic. Now, before you flush there is one more thing you must do first,” She grabbed the nozzle object from earlier. “You use this sprayer to clean yourself up. Simply hold it and it works like shower nozzle or garden hose.”
So the little colt did as was instructed to him, and then he stepped onto the flush pedal again and watched as the flush took everything in the toilet away. Hopefully next time he would get the performance right the first time and wouldn’t have to rely on his aunt to pull his tail free.