//------------------------------//
// Caramel 
// Story: Bathtime for Ponies Part 2 
// by Starry Eyed 
//------------------------------//

	You fill the tub with hot soapy water. ‘Hot’ is the key word here. You haven’t bathed Caramel before, but you have bathed a whole lot of the Apple Family members since you started this job, and if the past is any indication, Apples don’t take to bathing kindly. You want to be sure the water is still warm by the time that you finally get him in here. With preparations made, you set out to find the little guy.

You feel strangely at ease walking through his parents’ home. After having bathed some of the older Apple family members when they were foals, as well as bathing members that lived far away from Ponyville, it feels good to be walking through a normal home again. Caramel’s parents settled down right here in a far more modern version of Ponyville than their own parent’s generation did, and Granny Smith had already made the Apple family financially able to live comfortably here in Ponyville. Caramel may never even consider it, but since you’ve seen the living conditions of all the other family members over the years, you know he should be extremely grateful to live in such a good and modern home.

You realize that you’re getting nostalgic, and get your mind focused back on the search. You Finally find the little colt, who is playing with his toys. Caramel looks up at you with interest as soon as you walk in, he’s gotten rather bored and is waiting to see if you’ve come to play. 

Knowing that this is about to turn into a wild chase, you are tempted to either trick him by saying that there’s a game or else to jump him before he has a chance to run. You decide that neither approach is ethical foalsitter protocol, and decide to be honest with him, no matter how much trouble it will cause. “It’stimeforyourbathCaramel” you say as fast as you can as you crouch into running position. 

Caramel lets out a disapproving, “Aww” and begins to pout. You wait for it… any second now… or, maybe not. You’re half sure this is a trick, no bath hating Apple ever came along this easily. You decide not to look a gift pony in the mouth, smack yourself for using that cliché, and pick him up. 

When you get to the tub the water is still too hot to bathe him, after all this is record time when you had to chase down an Apple Family member. You set him on the mat and go back to close the door. You now take a seat next to the little guy and assume the friendliest demeanor you have, “You know, since you were so good, and didn’t put up a fight, we’ll have this bath over much sooner than bedtime. I’m sure we can eat some caramel swirled ice-cream in the extra time we have.”

Caramel instantly becomes happier, you hadn’t even realized how sad he had seemed until you saw him cheer up. To get him interested, and to make him lose his distain of bathing, you get him to join you in testing the water to see if it’s still too hot. The two of you make it a game, and before you know it Caramel and you are splashing merrily in the tub. You let this go on longer than you think it’s fun, because he likes it, there’s no reason not to, and you’re a good sitter.

Once he’s ready, you move to help the little guy into the tub, but he throws his front hooves over the side and pulls himself in all at once. You automatically reach for a towel to wipe the soapy water out of his eyes. After bathing little ponies over a hundred times it becomes a reflex.

You pat around his eyes with the towel and make sure he doesn’t have soap in his eyes, and he appreciates the care. You roll your own eyes at how strong earth ponies are even as foals, and get down to business. You use your patented Apple Gel Shampoo that you have used on every single Apple family member so far and begin lathering it into his mane. Caramel gives you a look that demands you not get any more of the soap in his eyes. You’re not even mad; it’s a natural response coming from a young foal who just got soap in his eyes while you were watching.

You scrub carefully for about twenty seconds until his mane is white and sudsy. You scoop your hands and ladle it over his mane ten or so times until his mane is clean. A normal person would be surprised, but after all the ponies you’ve washed, you had already long since expected it. Now that his mane is clean, his hair almost looks like it’s made of flowing, liquid caramel. It even has a sweet smell to it, but that’s probably just the shampoo.

You ask him to lift his tail, and smirk knowingly when he outright refuses. Caramel’s methods are different, but he’s opposing bathing just like any other Apple family member. “Need I remind you that our getting ice-cream for desert is entirely dependent on your bath ending early?” you say in the most confident tone you have. 

Caramel opens his mouth in shock for a brief moment before staring at you with a look that screams, “That’s not fair!”

You shrug, still smiling and completely confident you’re going to win, “It’s not my fault if bedtime rolls around before we get our ice-cream.”

Caramel doesn’t like it, but he complies. You scrub the tail hard so as to get the process over with. It Caramel’s tail is no bigger than his mane, so it’s over in less than half a minute. The very instance that you finish scrubbing he sits down and swishes his tail around in the water, rinsing his tail himself.

You lean back and laugh at the cute display of defiance, “I’ll let you pick Caramel: toys or ice-cream?”

Caramel lets you know his answer by pulling the plug out of the tub. You concede to that and place him on the drying mat. Moments later the little guy is clean, but not too happy about being bathed.

“Oh come on. We have a whole hour I hadn’t accounted for now. We can eat desert and play and still have time to story time. Caramel can’t believe it; he never gets to do that much stuff after a bath. The look in his eyes asks for an explanation. “You obviously don’t know how hard it is to catch an earth pony.”