"Hey, Zephyr, can I have a sleepover at Applebloom's today and tonight?"

Zephyr looked up from the pancakes he had made the two. "Today of all days? I heard the Apples were dealing with a rather massive caterpillar infestation. Would have figured Applejack would want all hooves on deck for it."

That made Scootaloo shake her head. "Apparently Applebloom was able to convince her family to allow it, though I heard she had to work extra hard to earn it. Sweetie Belle and I wanted to see if we couldn't pitch in a little ourselves and see if we can't get our Cutie Marks that way!"

"Been a while since you let me in on what you do for your crusades, huh?" Zephyr gives Scootaloo a knowing smile as she grimaced before chuckling. "I'm just teasing. Have fun, but be sure to listen to Applejack and Big Mac if they tell you something."

"Thanks, big bro! I'll go get ready now!" After quickly chomping down that's left of her meal, Scootaloo dashes from the table to her room upstairs.

Shaking his head in amusement, Zephyr quickly finishes his own plate before grabbing his sister's plate and putting it in the sink. After cleaning up a bit more, he decides to look at the interior of his house a bit more. With some help from Rarity, it was no longer bland with curtains and displayed gemstones adding a much-needed splash of color. For some reason, Rarity recommended deeper greens for the house.

A knock at the front door brought Zephyr out of his thoughts. Answering the door revealed both Mr. and Mrs. Cake with their newborn twins looking rather desperate. Remembering that the Cakes welcomed their babies roughly a month ago, Zephyr gave them a curious look. "What's wrong? You look rather... rushed."

Mr. Cake nodded. "Thing is, we have a massive catering order on our hooves and we need to focus on fulfilling it. However, we can't just leave our twins unattended the entire time, so we're looking for a babysitter."

"... Please tell me you at least tried some other ponies first."

This time Mrs. Cake answered, "We did! either they were too busy or didn't want to do it! You're currently our 6th attempt!"

Zephyr scrunched his muzzle a bit as he noticed a certain pink pony behind the parents. "At least you tried others first, but what made you think I'd be able to do it? Sure, I'm more-or-less raising Scoots, but she's a little sister. I have no experience raising newborns."

Seeing a bit of hope with Zephyr, Mrs. Cake smiled nervously. "Oh don't worry, we were just as inexperienced when we started too! Besides, you could think of it as practice for when you have foals of your own--"

"*WHEEZE**Ahem* Forgive me for the rudeness, it's just that the absurdity of that statement caught me off guard." Zephyr couldn't help himself with that little outburst.

That got a puzzled look from Mr. Cake. "You... don't think you'll ever have foals of your own?" Deep down it made him a little sad this stallion wasn't giving being a father consideration.

"With the way I am, I highly doubt anypony would want me as their 'Special Somepony'." That definitely saddened the Cakes and even Pinkie Pie, who was waiting patiently for them to notice, gave Zephyr a worried look.

If I HAD to imagine a pony who would... wait, why is Rainbow the first to pop up in my mind?! I know we spend a lot of time together, but that's for weather duties and the occasional for-fun race! Plus, I doubt she'll ever be sappy enough to 'fall in love' or something like that. So... why does my heart hurt when I try and convince myself of that?

What Zephyr didn't realize was that Scootaloo overheard that statement as well, which greatly saddened her. She wanted her big brother to find his own Special Somepony, but he still didn't have a high enough opinion of himself to try. I want to help him... but I can't right now. Maybe in the future when an opportunity presents itself...

"I'm heading out, big bro!" Scootaloo, doing her best to not show her sadness, ran past Zephyr and the Cakes with a smile on her face.

"Be careful, Scoots!" Zephyr shakes his head before returning his focus onto his guests. "The other subject aside--"

"Bu... Babu!"

"Huh, Pound?"

Mrs. Cake was surprised when Pound suddenly started reaching out to Zephyr. When Mr. Cake lifted him out of the saddle baby-carrier, The Pegasus baby dove to Zephyr, who managed to catch him with his primary wings. "Whoa! Your son is full of energy at any rate."

Pound lets out happy giggles. "Aau!"

"That's... strange. He's usually more reserved with strangers just like Pumpkin..." Mr. Cake couldn't make heads of why his son suddenly wanted to be in Zephyr's grasp.

Zephyr suddenly remembered something. "Come to think... during my dispatchment as a temporary soldier, another Pegasus newborn had shown attachment to me."

"Oh? Maybe you just have a way with Pegasus foals?" Was Mrs. Cake's take while Pumpkin was looking at Zephyr with uncertainty.

After thinking more on it, Zephyr shook his head. "First time's chance, second time's coincidence. If it happens one more time, then it'll be a pattern." Deciding on his course of action, he sighed as he patted Pound. "Alright, I'll do it. But I need to add the condition you find at least one more pony to help me, since I doubt Pumpkin share's her brother's attachment to me. I'll even forego any babysitting payment to make it easier on you."

While they did finally get a babysitter, The Cakes were unsure about his condition. "Who else can we ask?"

With a very flat look, Zephyr started tilting his head to the side, as if looking past them. Turning around, Pinkie Pie was there with an awkward smile. "I, uh, I still wanted to volunteer!"

That got a sigh out of Mrs. Cake. "Pinkie, taking care of foals is a lot of responsibility! Are you certain you're up to the task?"

"Of course! Actually, let me check my--"

"Pinkie Pie, don't push it..." The only reason why Zephyr added his condition was because had noticed Pinkie Pie doing her best to try and get the Cake's attention. He figured if Pinkie had the enthusiasm to at least try, he would give her that chance. She'd probably off-set my more low-energy way of dealing with the babies at any rate.

"*Ahem* I mean, of course I can! We can do this, Zephy!"

"I'll hold you to it." Zephyr said with an amused sigh as he looks at Pound, who had thoroughly snuggled into his wing's grip.

Zephyr and Pinkie Pie were in Sugar Cube Corner observing as Mr. and Mrs. Cake hustled around trying to fill their massive catering order. Pound and Pumpkin were by their hooves laughing at the scene.

"Now, Pinkie. I know you have Zephyr with you, but are you SURE you understand this kind of responsibility?" Mr. Cake was really feeling the pressure now.

"Of course I can be responsible! 'Responsible' is my middle name! Pinkie 'Responsibility' Pie!"

"Really? I thought it was Daine."

Zephyr snickered a bit when Pinkie gave him an exasperated look. "Oh come on! You weren't supposed to say that!" Her tone got giggles out of the babies.

Ignoring the lighthearted jabs, Mrs. Cake got in Pinkie's face while making sure to spare glances at Zephyr. "But this time you need to take care of them, not just play with them!"

"Mrs. Cake, I get you're going to be super worried about your children because that's part of a good mother's job. But please have at least some faith in us. You yourself told me this would be good for the experience and I promise we'll do our best!"

While Zephyr's words did lighten Mrs. Cake's expression a bit, she still couldn't help but worry. After extracting a finished cake, she managed to grab a list as well. "Oh... alright dearies. This list will have all your responsibilities!"

The moment the long list rolled out Zephyr knew that, if this really wasn't just Mrs. Cake being overly thorough, he was in way over his head. The post-deal regret is suddenly real over here... augh, I've got to be strong! I can't bail out on Pinkie like this!

Pinkie Pie was also shocked at the list, but did her best to reaffirm her duty. After eventually getting the parents out on their catering trip, Pinkie turned to the twins.

It didn't take long for them to start missing their parents terribly. Pound, for what it was worth, did his best to remain strong as he buried his face into Zephyr's leg. Pumpkin, on the other hoof, didn't take long to start crying.

That got a grimace from the green Pegasus as he picked up Pound in a wing and made sure to hold him close. "I guess my presence here is helping Pound, but poor Pumpkin..." The only thing he could think of was trying to distract the crying Unicorn with his other wing.

Thankfully, Pumpkin was receptive and started playing with his wing feathers, though she was still slightly whiny. Pinkie Pie breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're here, Zephy. I was going to try and make funny faces or do a stand-up comedy routine to try and cheer them up!"

Silently thankful he had washed his wings extra-well last night, Zephyr gave Pinkie a flat look. "The faces, maybe. But the comedy routine would've been a bit too advanced for them. As one of my mom's band mates always said to me growing up, always defer to K.I.S.S."

"K.I.S.S.?"

"Keep It Simple, Stupid."

"Huh... I guess that's true. A bit rude, but true." Pinkie went to tape the 'responsibilities list on the nearby cupboard. "Well, hopefully we won't run out of ways to entertain them."

"Ow." Pumpkin had plucked one of Zephyr's feathers and was gumming it joyfully. "I've heard of stuffing somepony's face to keep them quiet but..."

Pinkie went back to the list quickly. "Hmm it does says feeding time is upon us. Maybe they're hungry? I have just the thing!"

After getting the two babies put in their seats, with much whining from Pound not wanting to be separated from Zephyr, Pinkie Pie puts two bowls of of food out, one for each. After their confused reactions, Zephyr noticed the problem. "Pinkie, are they old enough to be eating solid food?"

"Huh? it isn't though?"

That got a facehoof. "Clearly still too solid... that or they've yet to start eating from anything other than a bottle." Zephyr managed to replace the two bowls with baby bottles filled with baby milk. While it was pretty awkward for him to get them started, the twins were eventually happily sucking away.

"Zephy, are you sure you haven't raised foals before? I feel like having you here is cheating."

"I haven't. Truth be told, I'm winging this entire thing."

Pinkie snorted in laughter at that. "I mean, you DO have four wings!"

"I do and I'm making darn sure I use em all! I just hope it's enough." Any confidence Zephyr had been exuding suddenly vanished as he looked unsure of himself.

"Bua!"

"Aue!"

Pinkie Pie looks over at the twins, who suddenly look too full. "Oh they're done! Actually, I do remember Mr. Cake doing this after they finish eating and they look like that!" She picks up the twins over each shoulder and pats them on their backs. After a few attempts, they both burp and were smiling again.

"Oh... I never thought of that. Guess they're still too young to do things like burp on their own."

"Guess not! Alright, time for a bath you two! Take a break for now, Zephy, I can handle this next part!" Pinkie picked up the twins and took them up the stairs to the washroom.

"Just make sure the water isn't too hot!" Zephyr called up after her. A feeling of unease came over him, but chose to hope Pinkie knew what she was doing as he sat in the lobby.

As the inconsistent crying heard from upstairs indicated, she was having mixed results. Zephyr went upstairs just in time to see the twins laughing at a now glop-covered Pinkie Pie. She gives him a look that practically said "don't ask". All he did was roll his eyes and helped her wash the babies.

A bit later, while the twins were playing in their room, Pinkie was double-checking the list while Zephyr was looking at a book on parenting, something he found laying around that the Cakes had. He was trying to get some nuggets of information out of it when a foul smell hits both their nostrils. Zephyr tried to plug his nose. "Oh what the-- what is that smell?!"

Pinkie quickly realized what it was as she looks over at the babies with a grimace. "Oh no... smells like somepony needs me to changy-wangie their diaper-wipers right nowawow..."

Zephyr looks at Pinkie like she's lost it before tossing her a clothes pin for her nose. "Let's... get this over with. I don't get how the Cakes can change diapers like this. At this point, I feel like using my primary wings is just cheating." With his own nose firmly shut he was able to quickly secure the twins before they tried to bolt, much to their disappointment, while Pinkie got the diaper change ready.

"L-let me try and handle it!" Zephyr gives Pinkie a concerned look before respecting her wish and backing off. After she tosses the old diapers away, he made sure to dispose of them so they couldn't emit their stench.

Removing the clothespin on his nose, he heard what sounded like a struggle in the baby's room. When he got back, he bore witness to diaper-less babies laughing at Pinkie, who had somehow missed so horribly she was wearing two, including one on her head. To say Zephyr was exasperated was a severe understatement. "HOW?! Just... HOW?!"

"I don't know either! I really don't!" Pinkie was doing her best to keep it together but her optimism was slowly dwindling.

Zephyr sighs as he quickly manages to snatch up the babies and haul them back. "I'll try this time. I got some knowledge from that parenting book the Cakes had lying around that should be useful. Give it a quick read when you find the time, it'll probably help a lot."

"Yeah... that sounds like a good idea--" The sound of the store bells ringing made Pinkie gasp. "Oh! thank goodness their home!"

"If you're going to go out there, at least take those diapers off. You look ridiculous..." Pinkie started struggling with the diaper on her aft-end as she exited the room. Zephyr sighed as he got to work putting on a fresh pair of diapers on each twin complete with applied baby powder. The book had said that, outside of cases of allergic reactions to the stuff, it's best to apply it to the diapers to prevent potential rashes.

Pinkie had gotten her rear cleared by the time she got to the door. As it turned out, Twilight was at the door with an unknowing smile. "Hey! Finally got my work done, so I decided to swing by and see if you needed any help!"

"Ah... Zephy has been helping me this whole time."

That surprised Twilight. "He agreed to babysit? I thought he would be too busy spending time with Scootaloo!"

"Scootaloo went to have a sleepover at Applebloom's place, so he agreed since he didn't have anything else going on. Though he did add the caveat that the Cakes had to find a second pony, which I think was his way of giving me an 'in' to help."

"That does sound like Zephyr. He doesn't seem like the kind of pony to really have all the attention on himself, so to speak." Twilight thought a little more. "Wait so... how has it been with him helping you?"

Pinkie thought back to all the close calls they had, chief among them being the babies' meals. "Honestly, as rough as it has been, it definitely could have been rougher without him. Maybe that's why it takes two parents to raise foals..."

"Oh, Pinkie..." Twilight gives her friend a knowing look as she cleans up the nearby play-area with her magic. "Babies DO take a lot of work. Not everypony is cut out to handle the responsibility."

"Oh? so you're saying you're one of them who can?" Both mares gave a start when Zephyr gave that tired snark to Twilight as he came down the stairs. While Pound was easier for him to work with, he still had issues getting the twins changed into their new diapers. "Then how come you never volunteered to babysit?"

"You weren't there to hear it, but I had to finish a report to the Princess summarizing all my other reports to the Princess." Twilight noticed Zephyr giving her the flattest look she's ever seen and frowns. "What?! It's very important stuff! Anyways, I can offer help now!"

"Excuses... whatever, Pinkie Pie has final say." After a tired sigh, Zephyr shook his head. "I really don't think I'm cut out for this kind of thing. I'm exhausted already..."

"Any my final say is that we're doing just fine!" Pinkie started pushing Twilight out the door as Zephyr nonchalantly observes. "Thanks for stopping by! Sorry, we don't have time to visit as we're very busy with our 'responsibilities' here!" With that, she shuts the door on Twilight when she tried to reaffirm she was here to help.

"She really got under your coat with that one statement, didn't she?"

Pinkie sighed. "Considering she thought I was doing this solo, it did wound me a bit! Though... I have been forcing most of it on you..."

"It's fine, Pinkie. I said I would help and I will. It's not like you were of zero help either." Zephyr shakes his head tiredly. "Though we should go back and check up on the twins. I did kinda leave them unsupervised..."

"Zephy, you're starting to sound like you have the energy of a 'tired, yet patient father' and I'm not sure how to feel about it..."

That got a snort of laughter. "I certainly felt like I aged about 10 years. Regardless..."

Knowing she wanted to take on more of the 'responsibility', Pinkie patted Zephyr on the back. "No, you take a break. I'll do my best to handle things from here."

"If... you are certain. You know where to find me if it gets too much for you." Pinkie salutes before going back upstairs with a determined look on her face. Zephyr managed to find the parenting book again and started reading again just-in-case.

He was brought out of it when he heard Pinkie make a short squeal of shock, prompting him to rush to where she was. "Pinkie?! What's wrong?!"

"You can fly?!"

Zephyr looks up at where Pinkie was looking and saw Pound on the ceiling. He also notice a bunch of objects in Pumpkin's magic over by the crib. "Huh... I guess the 'Zips' have begun."

"You're rather calm about this, Zephy! What do you mean by 'Zips'?!"

"Weirdly enough, I had JUST read about it in the book." He holds the book that was still in his right-primary wing towards the distressed mare. "Chapter 3, page 145. The short of it is that, after roughly a month of building up their magic, babies are able to use their race's specific magical capabilities, using it up in a rather... explosive manner."

Pinkie, having sped-read that specific part of the book, noticed something missing. "It doesn't say why they get it!"

"My theory is that, between getting magic from the mother before birth and their own magic build-up, it gets released in such a manner because they were unable to before this point. Also, it's called the 'Zips' because... well, Earth Pony and Pegasus newborns tend to 'zip' around during it. The term ended up simply being applied to Unicorns as well despite them not zipping around in a physical sense."

"I-is there anything we can do to stop it?"

Zephyr sighed as he wandered over to Pumpkin and started confiscating all the stuffed animals she had while cancelling her magic, much to the Unicorn's disappointment, before stuffing her pacifier into her mouth. "Technically we shouldn't. If they don't get all their excess magic out of their systems before a certain point, it could cause... complications later down the line."

Looking up at Pound, who was still flying around close to the ceiling, Pinkie still had a look of panic. "So we just have to suffer it?!"

"The best we can do is keep them confined to this room while letting them do their thing... as long as we make sure they don't endanger themselves. I can deal with Pound since I can fly as well, but I should probably limit my interactions with Pumpkin. My Unicorn magic-cancelling ability might end up causing problems for her."

"Oh... the fact it's almost feeding time again makes it worse..."

That got a grimace out of Zephyr. "For some reason, the Cakes didn't have enough baby formula for their milk. One of us will have to quickly go to the market to grab some more."

"I-I'll try my best, Zephy. Just... make sure you're fast, please!"

In the interest of saving time, Zephyr didn't object as Pinkie handed him the bits needed for the formula. Quickly exiting the room and making sure Pound didn't get out, he hustles to the market and found the mare in charge of what he needed. "Heya, Zephyr. What're you up to?"

"Grabbing baby formula. Ran out at a bad time."

That got a surprised look. "Did you welcome a baby into the world recently?"

"No, just babysitting for the Cakes. I'm far from ready to be a father."

"I don't know, you certainly have that 'tired, yet patient father' energy right now."

Zephyr gave a deadpan look. "That's twice I've been told that today... anyways, I need to go." Baby formula in hoof, he flies back to Sugar Cube Corner.

Unbeknownst to the two, a certain rainbow-maned Pegasus had overheard the conversation. When Zephyr was asked if he was a father, Rainbow Dash looked down at him in shock until he confirmed he was just babysitting which got a sigh of relief. Wait... why am I concerned about that? Why did my chest hurt when I heard he could've been a father? Arrgh, I'll turn into Twilight if I keep overthinking it!

When Zephyr got back and got the bottles filled, he went back up to the twin's room. He was surprised to see the twins sleeping soundly, with Pinkie making a 'shush' motion. "So it worked out?"

"In the end, yeah. Let's get this placed cleaned before Mr. and Mrs. Cake get back."

Zephyr held a hoof up to his muzzle to stifle a chuckle. "Now you have the energy of a 'tired, yet proud mother', Pinkie."

Pinkie couldn't help but give a knowing smile, knowing what he was getting at. "Oh shush, you!"

With the entire Sugar Cube Corner cleaned, it was just a matter of finishing the babysitting job. The twins did wake up when they got hungry, but they seemed a lot more mellow than before. While Pound still liked Zephyr a lot, the both of them had a lot more fondness for Pinkie Pie. As curious as he was, Zephyr decided not to question it.

When the Cakes did eventually get back at night, the twins were sound asleep again. Noticing how nicely done everything was, they assumed Zephyr had a major hoof in it, only to be surprised when he told them Pinkie was the one who was the MVP.

"I gave her a leg-up during the beginning, but the rest was her own efforts. I'm pretty sure she can handle it by herself next time now that she knows everything there is to know."

Mrs. Cake smiles at him. "Thank you very much, dearie. While Pinkie will be our main choice now, I'll be sure to keep you in mind as well. I'm sure you've learned just as much!"

After the parents gave him a small sum of bits with profuse thanks for helping, Zephyr went back home. The moment he went to bed, he was out like a light. it... really is too soon for me. Not like I'll ever sire my own foals, though...

Author's Note

This one was difficult to write for me, as I have no idea what it's like to raise kids or even babysit... Also, yes I couldn't resist a wheeze joke.