Potty Training Tales

by SuperPinkBrony12

Potty Time For Pinch (Ruby Pinch)

Author's Note:

Tags: [Slice of Life] [Alternative Universe]
Characters: [Ruby Pinch] [Berry Punch] [Anon]
Written By: PRINCESS CADENCE
Note: PRINCESS CADENCE expressed interest in doing a SFW prompt about Anon teaching somepony how to potty, and specifically hinted at the possibility of Ruby Pinch. This could also be in the same vein as “Bath Time For Ponies”, “Bed Time For Ponies” and “Meal Time For Ponies”.

You very carefully double checked the numbers on the side of the house against the crudely drawn piece of parchment held in your hands. It was hard to make out those little blotches of ink at first, but a closer inspection revealed that they were the same as the much bigger numbers inscribed in brick before you. This was the residence you had been called to. The owner of this house here in Ponyville had reached out to you for help with her daughter, though she had declined to provide many other details. The most she could add was that she was really busy running her own restaurant (though that was only part of her profession) and needed someone to look after her daughter who wasn’t going to think oddly of her for whatever reason.

Putting the paper containing the address back into one of your pants pockets, you reached out a free hand to knock on the door three times and then waited patiently. A reply came quite soon when a click could be heard, and then the door swung open. Before you now stood an earth pony mare who came up to about your shoulders. Her coat was a pale, light grayish pink. Her mane and tail were bushy and in locks of what looked like a reddish-pink that matched her eyes. Upon her flank was a cutie mark that depicted grapes and a strawberry.

“Oh, you’re here! Good, you’re just in time!” The mare let out a sigh, and it was possible to detect the faintest hint of cider upon her breath. Despite this she showed no obvious signs of intoxication. She was alert, speaking clearly and as she walked towards you she did not stumble or slip. “Don’t worry, I made sure to put all the cider away so she doesn’t get into it. Name’s Berry Punch by the way, Ponyville’s premiere bartender.”

You simply replied to Berry that you were aware and asked for permission to enter the household. When she gave it to you you did not hesitate to follow her inside. The house wasn’t anything to really write home about but for a single mom raising a child it was definitely more upper class than some other dwellings might be.

Berry led you to the living room where your young charge was waiting for you. She was a little filly who couldn’t be more than three years of age going by the diaper around her rear. Her coat looked similar to her mother’s in color, though it was actually pale, light grayish rose. Her mane and tail were bushy, but moderate rose in color with lighter rose streaks. And her eyes were a moderate lime green. What was most noticeable about the young one though was that she had a horn on top of her head, thus indicating that she was a unicorn.

“This is my daughter, Ruby Pinch. I’ve been having trouble getting her to use the potty. Probably because she’s a unicorn and I’m an earth pony, so my methods aren’t exactly compatible with her body,” Berry exclaimed as she let out a sigh of exhaustion. “I mostly hired you to foalsit her tonight while I’m at work, but if you can potty train her that would be a big help. I can pay you double the usual wage.”

The offer sounded insanely tempting. You didn’t have a lot of experience with pony toileting customs, but from the little amount of time you had looked after foals you had learned that it wasn’t too different from what it was like in your world. Each race of ponies had their own style of teaching that emphasized something different, and from what Pinkie Pie had told you that had given the Cakes a bit of trouble when they started potty training the twins.

After thinking over the offer for a bit you decided to accept. Ruby would hopefully not be too difficult to train, and the increased payment would really help keep the business afloat. Berry was delighted when you agreed, pulling you in for a hug! “Thank you so much for agreeing to this! I’m getting tired of changing her diapers, but I don’t want her to hate the process of getting out of them. You’re a real lifesaver!” After the hug ended she turned to her daughter and gave her a kiss. “Ruby, Mommy wants you to be nice to the sitter. Be sure to tell them if you have to go potty.”

“Okay, Mommy.” Ruby nodded her head, speaking in such an adorable little voice.

With that matter taken care of, you watched as Berry Punch rushed to get a saddle bag and started to pack. “I should be back first thing in the morning. Make sure she’s bathed and in bed by ten,” She instructed. “And don’t worry too much about the training, any help you can provide at all will be most appreciated.”

---

Once Berry had left, you turned to Ruby Pinch and kneeled down to her level. Her diaper didn’t appear to be used, but you knew from experience that appearances could be deceiving. So a diaper inspection was in order.

Ruby thankfully didn’t squirm about too much when you pulled back her padding to check it. It was indeed pristine, which was of great relief to you. And the bathroom was just across the hall from your current location. She just occupied herself with some of her toys after you had finished the diaper check. You weren’t sure if Berry had mandatory potty times or not, so you decided to hold off for the time being and trust the little one to tell you if something was wrong.

You sat down on the sofa so that you could keep a close eye on your charge, making sure that you would be prepared if any unexpected magic surges were to occur. Berry had said Ruby hadn’t had any for months and you had no reason to doubt her.

You knew that despite her cutie mark and the fact that she had once drunk out of a punch bowl at a party, she was a respectable, hard working mare. And unlike a few other clients of yours she was a single parent. So you just sat on the sofa, reading your book and glancing at Ruby Pinch to make sure she didn’t wander off or get into places she shouldn’t be. Berry had wisely invested in child proof locks that even unicorn magic couldn’t pick, so there was no chance of Ruby getting into those “funny drinks” her mom served at work (and occasionally made for herself if she had the time).

Before long half an hour had gone by. Ruby hadn’t moved from her current location at all, which was a good sign to you. She also hadn’t said anything, and there was no indication that she had done anything. Another diaper inspection revealed that the padding was still clean. That was good.

But even though Ruby hadn’t done anything yet you decided it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to have her at least try. Little ones didn’t always know when they needed to go after all. Pinkie had told you of several instances where the Cake Twins had struggled with this during their training, and as the old saying went: An ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure.

Ruby Pinch was more than a little surprised to be told by you that it was time to visit the bathroom and sit on the potty. She of course protested, saying that she didn’t need to go. But you argued back that she may not know until it was too late and that you were getting paid specifically to help potty train her, which wouldn’t be necessary unless Berry was absolutely struggling to do it herself. The bathroom had all the standard pony plumbing fixtures: Including a sink, a bathtub, and of course a flush toilet. Apparently the ponies called the one most common in your world a throne toilet, likely because of the way it was shaped and the way it was often referred to.

Of course, Ruby was far too little to use the toilet. And it didn’t appear that Berry had one of those special training seats that helped little ones to use it. Instead, there was a plastic bowl nearby that was just the little filly’s size. You even got a chuckle out of the words “My Little Potty” that were written on it in baby pink letters as you set it up, helped Ruby Pinch undo the tabs on her diaper and then sat her upon the potty.

---

Now came the part that you remembered was always the least fun part of potty training and something that even the people of your world had trouble with: The waiting game. Ruby was obviously not too happy to be sitting on that training potty. And whenever she tried to get up you would quickly force her to sit back down, telling her that she couldn’t get up until you said she was done. You couldn’t blame her for being bored. Just sitting around and waiting for something to happen was no fun at all, especially not to a little one who was so used to just doing whatever they wanted and going whenever they needed to. But you didn’t want to run the risk of accidents, because you would have to clean them up.

Fortunately you had planned ahead. When Berry had contacted you for this foalsitting assignment, she had specifically asked if you could bring along some reading materials that would be appropriate for a toddler. Never one to question a request from a customer you had taken the liberty of securing a few books from your world that parents often read to their young children.

You had them in a bag that had turned into a saddle bag when you had arrived in Ponyville for the job, so you reached in and took out the books. Ruby tried to light up her horn to grab one of the books, but it could only spark and produce a few faint stubs of magic. As you didn’t want the little one to overexert herself and possibly get hurt, you picked up the book that she was trying to grab and offered it to her to read.

She accepted it without hesitation and you could see a smile form on her face as she started reading through the pages. With the little one occupied, you brought out the book you had been reading earlier and sat on the bathroom floor to read to yourself. You turned your head away from the little filly so that she would have some privacy in case she did do anything at all. But you could still easily turn your head back around to glance at her and make sure she wasn’t trying to make a run for it.

Eventually, you decided that enough time had passed and Ruby was now free to get up from her potty regardless of whether or not she had done anything. If she had you would clean her up, and if not… well there was no point in trying to force it.

As you helped your charge to stand and looked down into the potty, you could see that she had indeed used it. You were very impressed and very proud of her for this, and you made sure to let the young one know. Positive reinforcement went a long way towards encouraging and promoting success when it came to potty training.

Picking up the potty, you carefully emptied its contents into the toilet bowl and then set it back down. You could clean it out later. For right now it was imperative that you get Ruby cleaned up. So you reached over and pulled a few rolls of toilet paper from the rack. Ruby once again held still as you carefully wiped her rump clean, then deposited the used rolls into the toilet for disposal. From there you proceeded to walk, reach over to the handle, and flushed the toilet, making everything within it disappear.

You were then prepared to put the lid back down and proceed to wash your hands in the sink, when you noticed Ruby standing beside you with a most curious look on her face.

“What that noise?” Ruby asked you. “What toilet do?”

Sensing that the little unicorn wouldn’t be satisfied until she had an answer, you decided a demonstration wouldn’t hurt matters. It’s not like you would be leaving her unsupervised in the bathroom like so many first time parents had a tendency to do. So after washing your hands in the sink, you picked up Ruby Pinch and carefully held onto her as you brought her to eye level with the toilet. Ruby looked down into the bowl, seeing sparkling clear water that almost resembled a mirror. Then she turned to the silver handle off to her left. After giving her some encouragement and gently bringing her closer, you let her reach a hoof and push down the handle.

The toilet roared loudly as it began to flush once more, the both of you watching as the water spun around and around like a raging whirlpool, then it retreated down the drain and came back. You made sure to explain to Ruby what she had just seen, and firmly warned her against trying to “play” with the toilet, before you set her back down. You washed your hands again and then made sure she washed her hooves. Then and only then did you put her diaper back on, making sure to redo the tabs so they were nice and secure before the two of you left the bathroom.

---

Of course, one successful trip to the potty does not automatically guarantee success in future endeavors. Potty training was seldom a straightforward route. Ruby did manage to make it to her potty again later in the evening, but not without sustaining a bit of an accident in her diaper. You made sure to reassure her that it was okay while you cleaned her up, accidents did happen after all and there was no point in getting upset over them.

The sun eventually set and the moon rose slowly into the nighttime sky. After another trip to the potty ended uneventfully, you decided it was time to tuck the little one in for the night and carried her to her bedroom. You put her to bed, though not without encouraging her to come get you if she felt she had to go again during the night.

After carefully closing the door to her bedroom, you went back to the living room and sat down on the sofa. Berry Punch would be pleased to know that her daughter had finally met with success in using the potty, even if it had only been once.

Berry Punch surprisingly came home earlier than expected. “Business was slow so I decided to close up early,” She declared, even though a quick look into her eyes indicated that the real reason for her return home was likely due to her daughter. “How was she? Oh, I hope she wasn’t too much trouble. How did the training go? She didn’t put up too much of a fight, did she?”

You just smiled as you stood up. This wasn’t the first time you were dealing with a parent worried about their little one, and it probably wouldn’t be your last either. Calmly and politely you explained everything that had transpired over the course of the evening, making sure to keep your voice down so you wouldn’t wake Ruby Pinch.

Berry was relieved to hear that everything had gone smoothly. And she was overjoyed to learn that you’d managed to get Ruby to use her potty successfully. “Oh thank Celestia! I was worried she would never get out of diapers!” She exclaimed, thankfully not too loudly! Of course you had to caution Berry against being too enthusiastic, making sure to emphasize that Ruby’s training would take time.

Still, Berry seemed intent on rewarding you as promised for your services. She hoofed over a huge sack of bits. “As promised, here’s your reward,” Then she blushed a bit as she added. “Would it be okay if I called on you again from time to time, just until I’m sure Ruby is fully trained? I tried just about everything to get her to learn and nothing was working. You’re the first positive sign I’ve had regarding the training since I started it.” You tried your best to sound modest and hoped you didn’t sound like too much of a bragger when you claimed that it was nothing, and that you’d be happy to help Berry again free of charge (you had plenty of regular foalsitting jobs to keep the lights on at work).

Berry smiled when she received the okay from you, and as a “reward” you saw her go over to the locked down cabinet where she kept all her “special drinks”. After making sure that Ruby wasn’t awake, she removed the lock, opened the cabinet, and started to work on preparing something just for the two of you. It tasted funny, but it was still enjoyable. Afterward, Berry made sure to lock down the cabinet again. “I can take it from here. When I need your help again I’m sure you’ll know.”

After waving goodbye to Berry Punch and telling her to say goodbye to Ruby Pinch for you, you depart from the house and head out into Ponyville. Your ride back to your world won’t be here for at least another hour or so, and you’ll have to inform your superiors about a new type of repeat customer. They should be understanding, though you silently hope your assistance with Ruby won’t become something else ponies start to rely on you for. Who knows if other foals will be as cooperative as Ruby Pinch was tonight? You shudder to imagine what less cooperative ones will be like.