//------------------------------// // Babysitting // Story: What if....? // by Dragonborne Fox //------------------------------// "So, whose turn is it to foal-sit?" Asked Nagare. He and the other Nature bearers were sitting at a round table. They were playing cards. "I dunno. I did that yesterday." Rekka replied. He had two cards, both of which were face-down on the table. "Foal-sitting sure makes you tired, huh?" Tenmei chimed. He had three cards in one hoof and a drink in the other. "Yes it does. Especially during feeding time!" Yuuki called. She had a royal flush just waiting to be played. "I know, right?" Koto cheered. She had four cards, one of each suite and they were all five's. In short, four-of-a-kind. "What is this, a bet on who foal-sits or strip poker?" Nagare chuckled. "I forgot. What were we talking about again?" Asked Rekka, who held a hoof to his muzzle in confusion. "I dunno." Tenmei answered. "Foal-sitting?" "Yeah! Loser gets to foal-sit!" Yuuki chimed with a huge smile. "Really? Who loses?" Koto said as she laid down her cards for all to see. "Four-of-a-kind? Really?" Rekka asked as he flipped his cards over: two queens. "Bitch, please." Tenmei said as he revealed two kings and a jack. Nagare blew a raspberry as he revealed a king, a queen, and a jack. "YOU ALL LOSE!" Yuuki bellowed as she revealed her royal flush. "A ROYAL FLUSH?!" Shrieked everyone else as they looked at Yuuki, who had a huge grin on her muzzle. "Looks like I had the losing hand." Koto sighed as she picked up her glass of apple cider. ____ "Mommy, why are you just blue?" Asked Water Drop, who was strangely enough a flaming red filly with blue eyes. She was a unicorn. "It runs in my family. Why do you ask?" Answered Koto with a smile. "Does it also explain why Daddy's red?" Asked Ember Feather, a blue Pegasus colt with red eyes. "Yes, it does. Many, many ponies said we were never meant to be. I don't give a hoot what they say--I can love whoever I wish, and if they don't like it, they can deal with it." Replied Koto, whose smile dropped slightly. "Why'd they say that?" Asked Mist Wisp, an alicorn filly with a mist-grey body and a red mane. "Ever seen me kissing your daddy in public, only for a stallion or two to object?" Asked Koto, to which the triplets nodded. "The ponies who pick on me because I went and married your daddy keep on saying 'fire and water is bad!' left and right. Some stallions began hitting on me in the worst display they could, only to be detained by the Royal Guards." "Really?! They're a bunch of bad ponies!" Cried Mist. "Yeah! Why don't they like somepony else's choice?!" Wailed Water. "I bet they don't have a mare of their own!" Chimed Ember. Koto looked at Ember with surprise. She did not expect a colt that young to make that comment about a pony he knew very little about. Then again, he was probably right. The stallions who made fun of her were most likely envious. "Where's Mommy?" Cried Thunder Gust. "She had an errand to do. Let me just say it involves the thunderclouds." Answered Koto. "Why say just that?" Asked Lightning Gale. "It's a really difficult process to explain. It is especially true for me, since I don't specialize in thunderclouds." Answered Koto again. "But you specialize in weather!" Ember pointed out. "True, but rain clouds and thunderclouds are entirely separate entities." Koto replied. "What will I specialize in when I grow up?" Asked Water. "That, I cannot say. You make your own choices when you're older. And if you can't make your own choices, we'll help." Koto smiled. "I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Called Yuuki as she walked into the playroom. Thunder and Lightning immediately ran to her and hugged her forelegs, which for some reason were black. "Mommy, what happened?!" Cried the twins as they looked at their mother's legs, all of which were black, burnt, and smelled worse than burnt popcorn. "A thunderstorm and a hurricane decided to join forces....your dad had to stop it all by himself because the storm threw me everywhere. The pain in my legs is gone, but my wings....are broken for a while." Yuuki sighed in defeat, noticing Koto going wide-eyed as she saw the bandages that held her wings to her body. "Was anypony besides yourself hurt?!" Koto cried, holding a hoof over her mouth. "No, everypony else remained unscathed. Rainbow Dash got them out of there faster than you can say 'damn, someone's getting their flank kicked!'" Yuuki answered. "Really?" Asked Koto. "She boasts about being the fastest flier in Equestria for a reason. Why else is her talent a Sonic Rainboom?" Replied Yuuki. "You need a bath!" Koto said. "Y'think?" Yuuki chimed.