The Uncle

Chapters

Chapter 1: Emergency Foalsitter
Chapter 2: Quiet Family Life
Chapter 3: Market Day
Chapter 4: Nap Time
Chapter 5: Dinner
Chapter 6: Quiet Evening
Chapter 7: A New Day

Chapter 1: Emergency Foalsitter

The Uncle

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 1: Emergency Foalsitter

Thursday, August 31, 2023
Merrillville, Indiana

“Aren’t you done yet?” Darlene Jacobson said to her boyfriend.

Said boyfriend looked up from the paperwork on his desk. “I’d like to be done too, but if I leave any of this unfinished, I’m going to regret it when I get back from our vacation.”

Evan Sedmak was the manager of a health club, a job not conducive to taking any time off. A dozen or more assistant managers over the years had taught him that any given person could cover running the place for one day without serious issue. Two days, and something normally went forgotten. Taking four days off, like for the camping trip he was starting the next morning, was asking for a disaster. He hoped that thorough documentation of the various days’ tasks, including asking each manager in charge to verify that the previous day’s tasks had been performed, would spare most of the issues. But the work was taking far longer than he wished; the sun had long set.

Darlene sat down in the one other office chair not covered in files and huffed.

“Aren’t you normally awake at this time of night?” Evan said. He knew Darlene was a night owl who would frequently be up past midnight; again, staying up late was something he rarely had a chance to do.

“Sure, but if we’re going to get up that early tomorrow, I want to try to get some sleep.”

“I assumed you’d be sleeping in the car,” Evan said.

“I have a hard time sleeping when the sun’s bright,” she replied.

Given that she was still wearing sunglasses while indoors and after nightfall, maybe she had a point.

“It won’t be much longer,” Evan said.

Not much longer turned out to be twenty minutes, putting the clock at five minutes past ten when Evan was finally ready to leave. He had been at the health club since 11:30, and he was definitely ready to leave.

The couple got into Evan’s car and drove back to his apartment, a two bedroom unit on the second floor in an older apartment complex. He unlocked and opened the door. The interior was cleaner than normal, thanks to the new girlfriend, so the normal clutter on the couch and kitchen table was stashed away. The only unusual thing he left out was a thick, old-fashioned book, currently resting at the edge of the table.

And the book was glowing red.

“That doesn’t look good,” he muttered, and ran over to pick up the book.

Darlene looked at it curiously. “What kind of device is that?” she asked. “Some weird cover for an iPad?”

“It’s not a device. It’s a book... a magic book.”

“No, really, what is it?”

“A magic book... you know, one used to communicate with the other world. It’s for my brother,” Evan said.

“I don’t have time for this, Evan,” Darlene said. “Just tell me what... wait. Your brother is Jason Sedmak?”

“Yes.” He pointed to two pictures on his bookshelf. “There’s a picture of him from Christmas, and there’s one from this summer.”

Darlene looked at the two pictures. The first showed Jason, a woman, and a baby, maybe eighteen months old, in front of a Christmas tree. The second showed a unicorn stallion and an earth pony mare, with an earth pony colt balanced on the stallion’s head, and a newborn unicorn foal, wrapped in a blanket, held in the mare’s forelegs.

It still surprised Evan Sedmak that people would know his brother’s name. They were a normal family, and Jason’s choice of professions, civil engineering, was not something that would normally attract notice. But then came the day four years ago when humans learned of the existence of another world, called Equestria, and the revelation that Jason was one of several people who had secretly been living there for years. His videos of Equestria had hundreds of millions of views, and he had two books, with a third on the way, talking about the magical pony world. All this, and he was working the job of his dreams, while being a devoted father and husband too.

Darlene focused on the photos, along with some off the other artifacts Evan received from Jason, or brought back himself from his one trip to Equestria, for Jason’s wedding. Evan used the respite to see what was in the book, and why it was glowing red.

Rose is in the hospital. She’s going to be okay, but we need someone to watch the foals for two days. We want it to be family. Can you come?

“Damn,” Evan muttered.

“What is it?” Darlene asked.

“Jason’s wife is in the hospital. He’s asking me to babysit.”

“He’s asking you to come to Equestria for that?”

“He said family’s important. But I suspect there’s something else going on.” Evan scrawled a response in the book.

Darlene’s over. I was supposed to leave tomorrow to go camping with her.

Jason’s response came quickly.

I don’t think the princess would mind if you brought her.

“He’s saying you could come, too,” Evan said.

“What? I don’t want to become a pony,” Darlene said.

“I thought the same thing, too, but it was kind of neat,” Evan replied. “Didn’t you want a pony when you were a girl?”

“I didn’t like ponies or unicorns. I was the tomboy who liked sports and roughhousing.”

“Well, I’m not abandoning my brother. I’d like you to come. It’s an experience, that’s for sure. You know how hard it is to get to Equestria; you’re not going to get a chance like this again. Please?”

Darlene took another look at the photograph in her hand; it was one with Jason and his parents, dressed in formal wear, from the wedding. “I don’t... okay, you’re right. I would regret not seeing the other world. But can’t I stay a human?”

“So far, no one’s found a way,” Evan said. “I’ll tell Jason you’re coming.”

Darlene is hesitant, but she’s willing to come. How long will it take you to get the portal going?

Twilight Sparkle is waiting in the hospital. We can go whenever you’re ready.

Okay, give me a bit to get ready.

“Okay, let me cancel our reservation at the campground, and we can go.”

“I’ll get my bags,” Darlene said.

“You don’t really need them,” Evan said. “Ponies don’t normally wear clothes.”

“What?” Darlene exclaimed.

“You don’t need them. You’ll have a coat of hair and a tail covering you.”

Darlene looked again at the pony pictures, seeing the ones from the wedding. “You weren’t wearing pants?”

“I wasn’t. And I never felt naked, not even when wearing no clothes at all,” Evan said. “I’m sure if we need anything, Jason could provide it.”

She replaced the photograph. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

After canceling his reservation and sending an e-mail to his parents, Evan wrote back to Jason.

We’re ready.

He watched the book as the words of Jason’s response formed.

Twilight Sparkle will create the portal in about two minutes. It will appear centered on the book. I recommend putting it in the center of the living room, and keep loose objects away from it.

Evan did as instructed. He stood back and waited, standing next to Darlene.

Two minutes later, a panel of violet energy erupted from the book, reaching nearly to the ceiling. The portal hummed, and he felt a strange vibration in his bones.

“Let’s go. Don’t worry if the magic overwhelms you. I’ll help you.”

They stepped into the portal.

Evan had traveled by portal once before—well, once each way—but his memories didn’t prepare him for the overwhelming sensations. He felt his body shifting in a strangely painless manner, felt the twinges on his back that were his wings returning, and started to sense the magic of the portal in that strange sixth sense that ponies have. He remembered to lean forward, getting ready to walk on four legs again. And still, he came close to blacking out. But when he saw the colors of the portal shift, a dark patch reflecting the other end of the magical tunnel, he focused on that.

And with a soft whump, he stumbled onto a hard tile floor.

Darlene was sprawled to his left, knocked out by the transition. He pushed his cream-colored muzzle under her dark blue one and rubbed gently. “Wake up.”

Darlene stirred. “Wha... what?”

“We’re here.”

Here turned out to be a small windowless room, with shelves on three sides. It was lit by a single light, one of those magical crystals the ponies used in place of light bulbs. The room had one other occupant, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Welcome back to Equestria, Evan. And welcome, Darlene.”

“You’re real! It’s all real!” Darlene exclaimed.

“Yes, and we’re happy to have you visit,” Twilight Sparkle said.

Evan looked around. “Is that clerk from last time here? Because, ah, I don’t think either of us have our passports.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled. “The only reason we went through all that was because of all the attention on your brother’s wedding. As princess of Equestria, I am happy to admit you for a short visit.”

“Where’s Jason?” Evan asked.

“Up in the hospital room. I’ll take you there, once I’m done checking your bodies. Evan, are your wings working?”

Evan flapped his wings, the muscle movements learned on his past visit coming naturally to him. He felt the magic in his core, willing him to rise, though he closed his wings before he lifted too far off the floor. “I think I’m good.”

“Okay. Darlene, I’m going to give you a magical reflex test, to help you feel your magical core and how your wings pull from it,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“I have wings?” she said.

Evan finally looked at the pony form of his girlfriend. When he first saw her, he noticed the dark blue coat and mane colored somewhere between red and purple. Now, he noticed the yellow eyes with catlike pupils and the membranous bat wings.

Darlene turned her head, pivoting nearly 180 degrees, as ponies could do. She saw the wings....

“Get it off get it off get it off!”

Panicked, Darlene started running. Given the size of the room, she could only run in a circle, and she didn’t run long before knocking her head into one of the shelving unit in the room. It wobbled and started to tip over. Spare medical equipment rolled off the shelves.

“Look out!” Evan yelled. He flew into the air, looking to protect Darlene.

The danger was soon averted. The entire shelving unit and everything on it was encompassed in the violet glow of Twilight Sparkle’s magic. She set it aright and replaced the items that had fallen.

Evan extended a wing over Darlene and pulled her close. His girlfriend was rubbing her head with a hoof. “Is it gone?” she whispered.

“Is what gone?”

“The bat!”

“Uh, there wasn’t a bat,” Evan said.

“There’s a mirror on the door behind you,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Why don’t you take a look at yourself?”

Darlene and Evan turned. He kept his wing over her. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe,” he said.

She looked at their faces in the mirror. “Why do I look so different from you?”

“Because you’re a batpony,” he said.

“A what?”

“A batpony.” He removed his wing slowly, revealing her wings.

“Eek!”

“What’s wrong?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“I hate bats! They’re creepy and dirty and have rabies....”

“But you aren’t. Despite the cosmetic differences, you are like any other pegasus, except for superior night vision.”

Darlene twisted her body; Evan suspected she was trying to flap her wings. “What do I do with these?” she said.

“I can teach you,” Evan volunteered. “Um, is batpony the right term?”

“It’s the one most commonly used. There’s also thestral, which is really the same thing, since the word is derived from the ancient Pegasan words for bat and pegasus pony. And there’s also lunar pegasus, but that’s a formal term most often used for guards in Princess Luna’s service.”

“And since you like staying up late, I guess that’s why you got to be a batpony,” Evan said.

“We haven’t had enough humans cross over to understand how Equestrian forms are determined, but it’s something I’m hoping to study,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Anyway, are you ready for your magical reflex test?”

“I guess. What do I do?” Darlene said.

“Just close your eyes, and feel what happens.”

Remembering what happened when he first visited Equestria, Evan stood back. Sure enough, the sparks of magic touching Darlene caused her wings to shoot out.

“Where did all the sparkles go?” she asked.

“With your magical pathways triggered, your brain is no longer translating the magic you squink as a visual effect,” Twilight Sparkle explained.

“The magic I what?”

“Some magic sense that all ponies have,” Evan said. “My brother mentions it in his book. I still don’t understand it.”

“Do you want to go see your brother now?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Yeah,” he replied.

The first thing Evan noticed about Ponyville Hospital was the flowers. Flowering potted plants occupied several corners, filling the room with a flowery fragrance, but not one that could cover the antiseptic scent that irritated his pony nose. The second thing he noticed was the attire of the doctors and nurses. It looked old-fashioned, like something he saw in classic cartoons.

“Rose’s room is on the second floor,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Wait. Visiting hours are this late?” Evan asked.

“There’s no formal policy, like I’ve read human hospitals have,” Twilight Sparkle explained. “Ponies value friendship and family too much to stop somepony from visiting. Just be mindful of everypony around you.”

They reached the room, and Twilight Sparkle opened the door with her magic. Inside, Evan saw Rose, asleep in the hospital bed, several machines connected to her. Through his wings, he felt the magic running through those machines. On a bench, Jason sat. His daughter was snug against his chest in a carrier, something like a papoose. His son was curled up at his side, asleep.

Jason looked up as they entered. “Evan. You’re here!” he said quietly.

“Do you need anything from me?” Twilight Sparkle asked Jason.

Jason shook his head, and Twilight Sparkle disappeared with a soft pop of rushing air.

“For the Princess of Friendship, she didn’t seem all that friendly,” Darlene said.

“Well, we’re all on edge after the manticore attack,” Jason said.

Evan nearly choked. “Manticore attack?” He realized at that moment that Jason never specified why Rose was in the hospital; he certainly wasn’t expecting that.

“Don’t worry, she’s going to be okay,” Jason said.

“Okay? What about a manticore attack is okay?” Darlene exclaimed.

“Shhh, ponies are trying to sleep,” Jason said. “It’s just the way this world is. With an abundance of magic comes risks that wouldn’t happen in the absence of magic.”

“What happened?” Evan asked.

“A mated pair of manticores that were driven out of their territory in the Everfree Forest stumbled into the park where a bunch of ponies were playing. Because it’s their mating season, they were aggravated and hostile. Rose was one of the ponies to distract the beasts while others helped the others retreat, and delay them until Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy arrived.”

“That sounds frightening,” Darlene said.

“It was, but once we realized what was happening, it was like we all knew what to do. The two fastest fliers went to get help, the strongest and most agile worked to contain the manticores, and I and others used magic or force to shield the foals and move them out of harm’s way. But Rose got stung.”

“Was anyone else hurt?” Evan asked.

“Another pony was stung, and a few others had claw or bite marks that were easy to fix. But this takes time.”

“What’s happening?”

“Rose is in a medically induced coma while the manticore venom is being treated. The poison is magical in nature, so the treatment is like a combination of antivenin and chelation. I don’t know exactly how the treatment works, only that it has to be thorough, since manticore venom is particularly insidious. Something about serving the dual purpose of killing the prey and making it poisonous for other manticores to eat.”

“I still can’t believe you’re willing to live like this,” Evan said.

“It’s a trade-off. There are risks in our world I’m avoiding by being here,” Jason replied. “But enough about that. It’s about time you met your niece.”

Jason’s horn lit, and his magic undid the buckles and straps of his baby carrier. He floated it over, allowing Evan and Darlene to see the tiny unicorn filly inside. The filly had a pale rose coat and two-toned red mane, and she was quietly gumming the tip of her hoof as she slept.

“Hi, Rose Aurora. I’m your uncle,” Evan whispered to the sleeping filly.

“Awwww,” Darlene cooed as she looked at the foal.

“Do you want to carry her?” Evan offered.

Darlene nodded.

With a burst of magic, Jason secured the carrier to Darlene. He then nudged Stonehoof awake. “Wake up. Your uncle’s here,” he said softly.

The earth pony colt rubbed his eyes with his hooves and looked to Evan. He frowned and shook his head. “Unca hooman,” he said.

“Yes, your uncle is human, but that’s when he’s in the human world. You’re a human too, when you visit him.”

“Not hooman. Big strong colt,” Stonehoof said.

Jason nuzzled his son. “Yes, you’re daddy’s big strong colt. But my big strong colt needs to go home and keep his baby sister safe. You want to keep Rose Aurora safe, right?”

“Uh-huh,” he said.

“And your uncle came all the way from the human world and became a pegasus just to keep both of you safe. So go home with your uncle and his marefriend, so that Mommy can sleep and get better.”

“Okay,” Stonehoof muttered, though he didn’t look convinced. In fact, Jason had to nudge Stonehoof to get him to move from his place at his side.

Stonehoof finally hopped to the floor and slowly walked to Evan. He craned his neck to look up at his uncle.

Evan lowered himself to the ground and smiled. “Hey there, Stonehoof,” he said.

Stonehoof walked to Evan. Evan reached out with a wing and pulled his nephew into a hug. “Nice to see you again, kiddo,” he said. He smiled, and gave him a noogie.

“Hey! Stop!” Stonehoof protested. “Daddy!”

“Surely, a big strong colt like you isn’t afraid of the noogie monster?” Evan said.

Jason and Darlene both laughed at the scene. Seeing no support, Stonehoof pouted cutely.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Evan said.

“Do you remember where we live?” Jason asked.

“Uh, no.”

“The hospital is on the main street through town. Turn right out the door, go to the third intersection, which is by the purple house, and turn right. We’re number 15, but you’ll recognize it by the smell of roses first,” Jason replied. “Come here. There’s a few things we should talk about before you leave.”

Evan got up, and he and Darlene joined Jason on the bench. “Stonehoof has his own room, and Rose Aurora’s crib is in our room. Stonehoof is potty trained, but he still wears diapers to bed in the evening, just in case. You’ll find the diapers in the changing station.

“There’s plenty of food in the pantry, and there are two bottles of milk left in the icebox. You’ll need to buy more. There are bits in a box in the pantry.

“Rose Aurora has no trouble sleeping most of the day, but Stonehoof will fight you before his nap. But he needs his nap. I recommend taking the foals out to play early in the afternoon; that will help them sleep.

“If Rose Aurora has a magical surge, first try holding her and talking to her. If that doesn’t work, you can try rubbing her horn, but be gentle.”

“Magic surges?” Darlene said.

“All unicorn foals have them, some more than others,” Jason explained. “The effects are completely unpredictable, but they’re normally not dangerous.”

Sleeping in her carrier, the little filly certainly didn’t look dangerous.

“Anything else?” Evan said.

“I’m sure I’m missing something, but don’t worry. Use your judgment. And anypony would be happy to help you. Just ask,” Jason said.

“Okay. Then I guess we’ll be going,” Evan said. He turned to Stonehoof. “Want a ride?”

Stonehoof frowned. “Big colts walk.”

“Okay, you can walk. Let’s go!”

Sure to his boast, little Stonehoof had no problem keeping up with Evan and Darlene. Of course, they weren’t walking that fast; Darlene was still uncertain on her hooves.

The rapid clip-clop of the colt’s little hooves sounded softly behind the adults as they walked. Until they reached the lobby, and the sound stopped.

Evan turned and looked at Stonehoof. The colt was staring up at the nurse’s station, where a jar full of lollipops rested. The candies were arranged like a bouquet, their bright colors muted by their wax paper wrappings. It was still capable of catching Stonehoof’s complete attention.

“Lala!” he shouted, reaching with a hoof.

“No, no lollipop,” Evan said. “We need to go home.”

“No!” Stonehoof cried. He planted his hooves firmly and the ground and frowned.

“Come on,” Evan said.

When Stonehoof didn’t move, Evan took the matter into his own hooves. He went to pick up Stonehoof, only then realizing that the method he thought to use, picking him up by the scruff of his neck, was something only a pony would do.

And then he found that Stonehoof wouldn’t budge.

Even when he tried to use his legs, Evan couldn’t move Stonehoof. It was like he was glued to the ground.

“What’s going on?” Darlene asked.

“I don’t know,” Evan admitted.

“He’s just channeling his magic,” the pony at the nurse’s station said, a unicorn wearing a nurse’s outfit. “It’s an inborn defense mechanism used by earth ponies against ancient predators like the griffons.”

“How do I stop it?”

“Make him laugh. That should break his concentration.”

Evan reached out with a wing. It didn’t take long to find a point where Stonehoof was ticklish. The colt giggled, and Evan snatched him up, putting him on his back.

“That was a very good display of magic,” the nurse said to Stonehoof. “I think somepony deserves a reward!” The nurse floated over a red lollipop, unwrapping it at the same time.

“Yay!” Stonehoof cheered, and closed his mouth around the treat.

Evan turned his head and looked at Stonehoof. The colt was happily sucking on the lollipop, with a smug expression that just said “I won”.

Evan grumbled and started walking.

Evan and Darlene stepped out of the hospital and into a pleasant Ponyville night. The full moon and the old-fashioned gas lamps provided enough light to see.

“Wow, it’s bright,” Darlene said, donning her sunglasses.

“I’m guessing, with those eyes, you see better in the dark,” Evan said.

“Whatever. If this is what night is like, I’m really going to need my sunglasses tomorrow.”

Evan felt a small kick on his barrel. “Down!” Stonehoof said.

“Are you sure you can keep up?” Evan asked.

His nephew pouted. “Big strong fast colt.”

“Let him walk. You can always carry him later,” Darlene said.

Sure enough, Stonehoof made up for his little strides with the exuberance and energy that all children have. He kept up with their leisurely pace.

Darlene looked to Evan, to the colt trotting between them, and then to the sleeping filly held close to her chest. “Are we really doing this?” she said. “I mean, I’ve thought about a family, but never like this.”

“I helped take care of Jason when I was a child. I think I can handle a few bottles and diapers.”

“But ponies?”

“If there’s one thing seeing this world has taught me, it’s that humans and ponies are so similar,” Evan said. “How hard can it be?”

Chapter 2: Quiet Family Life

The Uncle

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 2: Quiet Family Life

“It’s so peaceful,” Darlene said.

Evan nodded. They had only seen two ponies out and about. It looked like most ponies were either asleep, or inside with their families. Judging from the glow coming from the windows of the nearby residences, it was about fifty-fifty.

The directions Evan received from his brother were easy to follow, and soon his sensitive nose picked up the fragrance of roses. The scent grew in strength until it overpowered the smell of the earth and grass.

“Good thing we’re here. Rose Aurora’s getting fussy,” Darlene said.

Sure enough, the filly was squirming, little hooves moving back and forth, muzzle wrinkled in discomfort. She wasn’t crying, but she looked just about ready to cry.

Another shift from the filly, and an odor stronger than that of roses assaulted his nostrils. “Looks like she needs a diaper change,” he said.

“Then let’s get inside,” Darlene said. “Do you have the key?”

Evan realized he didn’t. But he put his hoof on the doorknob, briefly wondering why ponies had doorknobs, and twisted. “It’s open,” he announced.

Having visited the home on his last trip to Equestria, it looked familiar. It was the same small and simple farmhouse. The main difference was the large number of new pictures hung on the wall, mostly of the two foals.

“Go to your room,” Evan told Stonehoof.

“Okay,” the colt said before running off.

“I see the changing table,” Darlene said, pointing to another room.

Evan instinctively reached for a light switch before thinking the house wouldn’t have one. But his hoof touched some kind of button, and the room was illuminated by a lamp on a corner table. It worked like a light bulb, but the sensations in his feathers told him it was magic.

Regardless of the cause, it was nice to be able to see.

The bedroom was filled with wood furniture, all old and worn, but still sturdy and functional. The pieces looked handcrafted, not at all like the mass-produced furniture in his own apartment.

“Can you help me with this?” Darlene said.

Evan saw she was struggling with the baby carrier, and after looking at it, Evan wished he had paid more attention when Jason had hooked it up. There were an abundance of straps and buckles, all big enough to be manipulated by hoof and mouth. Now, he just had to figure out how to do it.

Five minutes and several failed attempts later, Evan was holding Rose Aurora, and Darlene was pulling herself free from the remaining straps. The filly was now awake and crying.

“Up you go,” Evan said.

He placed the squirming filly on the changing table. “Uh....”

“What?” Darlene said.

“Where’s the diaper?”

At first glance, the shiny material on the garment covering the filly looked like the diapers Evan knew. But the shape was all wrong. Where were the folds?

Darlene poked at the garment, putting a hoof under the waistband and lifting. “Looks like the diaper is under this.”

“Oh,” Evan said.

He now tried to remove this outer layer. He had trouble grabbing the material, which looked like rubber, with his hooves, so he had to pull down from the waistband.

A squeal from Rose Aurora reminded him that her tail needed to be threaded out of the tail hole first. But after that was done, the garment came off easily, revealing the actual diaper. He looked at it again. “Is that a cloth diaper?”

“I think it is,” Darlene said. “I see what look like diapers hanging on the clothesline outside.”

Cloth diapers made what should have been a simple matter harder. And then came the realization that he did not currently possess hands. “Now what?” he asked.

“I guess we start with that? It looks like a pin,” Darlene said.

Either ponies didn’t have safety pins, or more likely they didn’t work well for ponies who weren’t unicorns. This pin was a large straight pin, with a large round bead on either end. Evan was able to see that one bead was removable, serving to cover the pointy end.

Using his mouth, he was able to easily remove the cap, and then the pin. The pinned fabric unrolled; there was quite a bit of extra fabric.

“Why all this wasted fabric?” Darlene asked.

“I have no idea,” Evan said. Then he facehoofed. “I think I figured it out. And it’s not a pleasant thought.”

“What?”

“Watch.”

Evan took the end of the fabric strip in his mouth and pulled. Trying not to breathe, he pulled, undoing the diaper.

“I’ve got her,” Darlene said, picking up the filly.

Evan was happy to find there were moist baby wipes, or something like them, in Equestria. He was even happier to see that they were very thick. They had a fragrance of roses, which actually tasted kind of good when he held them in his mouth.

The next part, cleaning the filly, he did as quickly as possible.

Darlene had found a clean diaper, and placed it on the changing table. She then took a container of baby powder in her mouth, and applied it to the filly. It took a few tries, but Evan was eventually able to get the clean diaper on Rose Aurora. Putting her rubber pants back on was a lot harder than taking them off.

Once it was all done, the filly settled down. Evan placed her gently in the crib. Seeing a pacifier there, he took it and offered it to Rose Aurora. She took it, sucking contentedly.

“She’s so precious,” Darlene said.

“They all are. At least while they’re sleeping,” Evan said. “Now, what do we do with the dirty diaper?”

“I remember my grandmother talking about using cloth diapers,” Darlene said. “She washed them in the washing machine, I think twice, but first they were cleaned in the toilet.”

“That makes sense,” Evan said.

Again, he was grateful for those extra-long strips that meant he could hold onto the diaper far away from the toilet.

The hamper in the bathroom, filled with soiled diapers, indicated they had figured it out correctly.

“I’m glad we’re done with that diaper,” Darlene said.

“Speaking of which, there’s another child that needs a diaper.”

Over in Stonehoof’s room, they found the colt, curled up under a blanket on his child-sized bed. “Stonehoof, do you have your diaper?” Evan said quietly.

“Stonehoof sleeping,” the colt said unconvincingly.

“Your father said you have to wear a diaper to bed. Now come on.”

Stonehoof continued to feign sleep, so Evan had to grab him and take him to the changing table. And because he wasn’t moving, putting his diaper on was easy,

“Is there anything else we need to do?” Evan asked.

“Brush his teeth? Do ponies brush their teeth?” Darlene said.

“Did you brush your teeth?” Evan said to Stonehoof.

“Uh-huh!” the colt said. Given that his tongue was still stained from the lollipop he had just consumed, it was obvious he was lying.

“You need to brush your teeth,” Evan said.

“Daddy brushes teeth,” Stonehoof replied.

“Well then, tonight, your favorite uncle will brush your teeth.”

Next, Evan found the bathroom. Amazingly, he spotted the toothbrushes right away, neatly arranged in a rack. The handles were painted wood and extremely wide; he had no idea what the bristles were made from. It didn’t look like plastic. The toothbrush with the smaller head was probably Stonehoof’s; it was also painted gray, matching the colt’s coat.

A small jar under the sink, decorated only with a blue and white swirl, was stored near the toothbrushes. Given the strong smell of peppermint, it was probably the toothpaste.

“Are there any extra toothbrushes? We sort of didn’t bring them,” Darlene called from the other room.

“Let me check,” Evan said.

There was a small linen closet connected to the bathroom, and he found some extra toothbrushes, with unpainted handles, along with towels and plenty of other brushes, the kind used to scrub one’s coat.

Evan wondered how Darlene would react to the idea that ponies normally bathed together.

After some fumbling with trying to open a jar with hooves and mouth, Evan had a toothbrush with toothpaste.

Stonehoof was waiting on his bed for Evan. When Evan entered the room, he lay back on the bed, opening his mouth wide.

Evan hopped on the bed. While he had figured out that the broad handle meant that ponies held their toothbrushes in their pasterns, he still had to figure out how to sit to best be able to brush Stonehoof’s teeth. He eventually figured out sitting on his hind legs like a dog, with one forehoof cradling the colt’s head and the other using the toothbrush.

Evan recalled vague memories of his own father brushing his teeth when he was a toddler. It was a nice feeling.

“Gah,” Stonehoof gurgled.

Evan looked down, and noticed he had been brushing Stonehoof’s teeth for so long, the poor colt’s mouth was completely full of foam. He took out the toothbrush and patted the colt, who jumped off the bed and ran for the bathroom.

“Unca!” Stonehoof called. “Water!”

Evan hurried to the bathroom. Stonehoof was perched on a footstool, able to reach the sink, but not the cup resting by the sink.

Evan looked at the round cup and his flat hoof. He shrugged, and tried to pick it up. His hoof curled around the cup, much more than it should be able to do. So he had no problem helping Stonehoof drink his water. He then took a towel and wiped the colt’s face clean.

“It’s bedtime, Stonehoof,” Evan said.

“Okay, Unca.” And remarkably, Stonehoof headed to bed without protest.

“You handled that well,” Darlene said to Evan.

“Of course! I’m his favorite uncle!”

“You mean his only uncle?”

“Actually, I think he has lots of aunts and uncles on his mother’s side. There were a lot of ponies at the wedding,” Evan said.

Evan and Darlene cleaned up and brushed their teeth, the two transformed humans helping each other with their unfamiliar bodies. Then they headed to the bedroom.

“I’m beat,” Darlene said.

“So am I. This really takes a lot out of you,” Evan replied.

“What? Taking care of kids, or being a pony?”

“Yes,” Evan stated.

They turned off the light, and slipped into bed, enjoying the blissful silence.

“WAAAAH!” Rose Aurora cried, mere seconds later.

Evan crawled out of bed and walked to the crib. “What’s wrong? Diaper?” He sniffed; that wasn’t it. “Hungry?”

Rose Aurora just kept crying.

Evan hoped it was hunger. He knew how to deal with that, unlike magic surges and whatever other ailments afflicted baby unicorns.

He picked up the crying filly, cradling her against his body, and did the awkward three-legged walk to the kitchen. He found what had to be the refrigerator, and opened it. Just like Jason had said, there were two bottles of milk prepared. At least baby bottles were the same; the shape of the rubber nipples was familiar.

He fumbled holding both the bottle and Rose Aurora, so Evan realized he needed to sit down.

“Okay, here you go.”

Once the bottle was in place, Rose Aurora started suckling. She got about two-thirds of the way through the bottle before she started spitting out the nipple. She was full. He put the rest of the bottle back into the refrigerator.

Now, Rose Aurora was squirming. “Do ponies need to be burped?” he wondered.

He sat back down, put the filly over his shoulder, and tried to pat her on the back, as soft as hooves would allow. Finally, Rose Aurora burped. It was an impressive display. Evan felt a slimy wetness in his coat and wing, and his nose picked up the foul smell.

A trip to the bathroom later, and Evan was mostly cleaned up. Finally, he could set Rose Aurora to sleep for the night. He placed her gently in the crib; the filly was already asleep, or close to it.

At last, Evan could turn in for the night. He crawled into bed, pulling the thin blanket over him. The bed was comfortable, but his pony body felt off, distracting him from sleep.

Darlene had it worse. She was tossing and turning constantly.

“What’s wrong? Is it how your body feels?” Evan whispered to her.

“It’s not that. It’s too quiet!” she replied.

Evan thought back to his own apartment. His neighbors were often noisy, but even when they were asleep, there was the distant roar of traffic, the hum of the streetlights, even the whining of the refrigerator motor that he never seemed to notice until it turned off. And now they were all gone. There wasn’t even the sound of a ticking clock.

All Evan was hearing was the breathing of the ponies in the room. And focusing on that certainly didn’t help matters.

“It’s going to be a long night,” he said to himself.

Friday, September 1, 2023
Ponyville, Equestria

Sleep must have come at some point, because the next think Evan Sedmak knew, it was morning. It felt later than he normally rose, though the strange working of the Equestrian sun meant that how light it was outside was no help in determining what time it was.

Evan looked over at the crib; Rose Aurora was still asleep. He crept out of bed, and checked Stonehoof’s room. The colt was also still asleep, even though he had somehow managed to kick all the blankets and pillows off his bed during the night.

When he returned to the master bedroom, Darlene was stirring, halfway between sleep and wakefulness. Evan gently nudged her awake.

“Mmm... wha?” she muttered.

“It’s morning. We should get ready before the kids wake up.”

Darlene blinked her eyes sleepily. She went to rub them, but forgot about her new body. “Ow” she said as she smacked her face with a hoof.

“Be careful. Remember, you’re in Equestria now.”

Darlene blinked and stared at her hooves. She then tried to get out of bed, but all she accomplished was wrapping herself in the covers.

“Try not to think about it,” Evan suggested.

“How am I supposed to not think about it?” Darlene said.

“Shhh. The baby’s still asleep. Let me help you.”

With Evan’s help, Darlene freed herself from the covers and got out of bed safely. After a few steps, she started to get a feel for her pony body again.

“Let’s hit the showers,” Evan said.

“I’m going first,” Darlene said.

“Actually, it will be a lot faster if we shower together,” Evan said.

Darlene gave him a dirty look.

“I don’t mean like that! Look, it’s just that, without hands, it’s a lot easier when you have help.”

“I think I can figure it out,” Darlene said.

Evan shrugged. “Fine, but if you change your mind, just call.”

Darlene went into the bathroom and closed the door. Evan took a seat outside the door, sitting in that weird pony way that resembled a dog sitting.

It took ten minutes for Darlene to ask for help. And when he went in, Evan saw water all over the floor, two dropped brushes, and one upset bat pony covered in shampoo.

“How do these ponies clean themselves?” Darlene said.

“I didn’t figure it all out, but I know it’s faster with help. Here,” he said, and picked up a brush in his mouth.

“You hold it in your mouth?” Darlene said.

“I tried it with my hoof, but the grip isn’t strong,” Evan mumbled around the brush’s handle. “Is that what you did?”

“Yeah,” Darlene admitted.

“So this works better,” Evan said. He started scrubbing Darlene’s coat, building up a thick lather.

“That feels good,” Darlene said.

“It does.”

After a moment, Darlene said, “Just get in the tub.”

“What? I thought you didn’t want to....”

“Right now, I feel like a child being bathed by her parents,” Darlene said. She sniffed. “Besides, you need a shower, too.”

Working together, the two humans turned ponies got clean. The one thing they couldn’t handle was their wings. Jason didn’t appear to have any of the brushes used by pegasi, and neither had any idea what do to with Darlene’s batlike wings.

After the shower, they toweled off, brushed their manes, and were finally free to face the day.

“Just look at the view,” Darlene said. Outside the window, they got a glorious view of Rose’s rose gardens.

“It’s so quiet and peaceful,” Evan said.

“UNCA!”

“For as long as that lasted.”

Evan and Darlene went to Stonehoof’s room. The colt was lying on his back and squirming.

“What is it?” Evan asked.

“Diaper!” he said.

Evan picked up the colt and took him to the changing table. Taking off the diaper was a lot easier than putting it on, and Evan was glad to find that Stonehoof remained dry all night.

“Down!” the colt said.

Evan carefully lowered Stonehoof to the ground, and the colt shot off toward the bathroom. A minute later, they heard a flush.

“I’m glad he can take care of that,” Darlene said.

“We’re not going to be so lucky with Rose Aurora,” Evan said.

Sure enough, the filly had a wet diaper. Still not used to handling diapers with hooves, it took Evan a while to finish.

Once Rose Aurora was settled back in her crib, Evan headed to the kitchen, where Stonehoof was tugging on Darlene’s leg and repeatedly saying “Oatmeal!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Stonehoof wants oatmeal,” she said.

Evan noticed she was standing next to a burlap sack. “Is that the oats?”

“Yeah, but what am I supposed to do with that?” Darlene replied, pointing to the stove.

The pony stove looked something like an old potbelly stove. The bin of wood and kindling next between it and the oven suggested that both were wood-fired. There certainly was no button to turn on the stove.

“Uh...” Evan said.

“Well, you’re the one who wanted to go camping,” Darlene mentioned.

“I know how much wood I need for a campfire. I don’t know how to use this stove!” Evan said.

As Evan was looking around the kitchen, noticing how much looked unfamiliar, he spied something that looked normal. On the counter, tucked into the corner of the room, was what appeared to be a waffle iron.

He opened it up. It was a waffle iron. It had a clear crystal about the size and shape of the power indicator on his own waffle iron. He touched it with a hoof, and it started to glow. He soon felt heat radiating from the metal surfaces.

“I think I can use this to make waffles,” Evan said.

“Would you like waffles?” Darlene said to Stonehoof.

“Waffles waffles waffles waffles waffles!” the colt chanted.

“I guess that’s a yes.”

Jason and Rose’s kitchen was well stocked for cooking from scratch, probably because they did cook from scratch. Darlene gathered the dry ingredients while Evan got the eggs and the milk from the refrigerator. He was reminded about last night, and how he couldn’t hear it running. Curious, he opened the bottom portion, where the freezer would be back home, and he found only a huge block of ice.

“This isn’t a refrigerator. It’s an icebox. A real icebox!” he said.

“What? How do ponies live like this?” Darlene said.

“I’ve never really talked to Jason about it. But he’s talked about it a little in his books,” Evan said. “Besides, he gets magic out of the deal.”

“Is that what makes the waffle iron work?”

“I guess.”

Twenty minutes later, the family was sitting down at the kitchen table, plates of waffles at the ready. Evan sat down next to Stonehoof, cutting the colt’s food.

Shortly thereafter, breakfast was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Evan volunteered.

Evan opened the front door, revealing two mares. One was unfamiliar to Evan, a white-coated earth pony with a wavy yellow mane and a cutie mark of wildflowers. The other, however, was a pegasus with a light blue coat and two-toned mane of darker blue, a pegasus that Evan was familiar with. Very familiar with....

April Showers stepped forward and nuzzled Evan. “I heard you might be here,” she said.

“Uh, yeah. That’s why you came?”

“I came to give the roses some rain and keep my sister company as she tended to them. Seeing you was just a bonus.” She reached out with a wing and traced the tip of a feather down Evan’s face.

“And who is this?” Darlene said.

Evan looked back and saw his girlfriend, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. She was scowling in a familiar way; if she were still human, she would have had her arms crossed over her chest.

“Hey, Darlene. This is April Showers. She was Rose’s mare of honor at the wedding.”

“Well, nice to meet you. I’m Darlene Jacobson, Evan’s girlfriend.”

Evan definitely noticed Darlene emphasize that last word.

“This is my little sister, May Flowers,” April Showers said. “She’s taking care of Rose’s flowers while she’s recovering. I’ll be giving them a light shower when she’s done. But until then, may I keep you company?”

“Sure. We’re having breakfast,” Evan said.

April Showers sniffed the air. “Waffles?”

“That’s right.”

“Fancy!”

“Well, it was all we could figure out how to work,” Evan admitted.

April Showers followed the couple into the kitchen. Stonehoof looked up from his waffles. “Auntie!” he shouted.

“Hey, kiddo,” April Showers replied, rubbing his head with a wing. She then shook her wing. “You got syrup everywhere!”

Sure enough, in the minute he had been left alone, Stonehoof somehow managed to get syrup on his face, in his mane, and all over his hooves.

“I got it,” Evan said, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it in the sink.

“There’s some batter left. Do you want a waffle?” Darlene asked.

“Sure,” April Showers said.

Before Darlene could act, they were interrupted by Rose Aurora crying. “Sorry, I’ll see what she needs,” Darlene said.

“I can make the waffle,” April Showers offered.

After a while, Stonehoof was cleaned up, and Rose Aurora was settled in Darlene’s forelegs, happily sucking on a bottle. April Showers was eating. In the relative quiet, Evan’s attention was drawn to the window. The kitchen had a large window overlooking the rose bushes, and Evan could see May Flowers tending to the roses.

It was a remarkable sight to see. The roses all seemed to pull to her as she walked by them. Buds opened before his eyes, and the flowers looked brighter. Rose actually did very little physically, only occasionally pruning a bush with the clippers in her mouth, but the effect of her earth pony magic was clear.

“Looks like she’s about done,” April Showers said. She got up and prepared a waffle, using the last of the batter.

April Showers was setting a plate for May Flowers as the earth pony entered the house. She had a faint aroma of roses about her, but not enough to cover up the scent of her hard labor. “The garden’s ready for you, sis,” she said.

April Showers turned to Evan and Darlene. “Do you want to watch weather magic at work? I’ll try to keep you dry,” she said.

“Actually, I would,” Evan said.

“Pass. I don’t like getting caught in the rain, especially when I’m wearing this coat of hair,” Darlene said. “I’ll watch the kids.”

Evan followed April Showers out the back door. “What are you going to do?” he said.

“It’s best just to watch,” she replied.

April Showers took flight, gaining altitude as she turned in gentle figure eights. It was graceful and beautiful, and Evan was pretty sure she was showing off for him. She then shot off for the edge of town. Evan had no trouble tracking her with his keen pegasus eyes. She found a group of clouds, flew into it, and came out clutching a small gray cloud.

Reading that pegasi move clouds didn’t prepare Evan for seeing it happen. Even watching videos of it couldn’t compare to seeing it with his own eyes.

April Showers placed the small cloud over Rose’s garden, and then flew in circles around it, causing the cloud to flatten and spread. Evan flew up to get a better look, but April Showers intercepted him. “You want to stay back until the rain starts. Bad things can happen if somepony untrained in weather magic gets too close to a charged storm cloud.”

“Okay,” Evan said, hovering at a distance.

After checking her work, making sure the cloud was spread thin, April Showers looked away, arched her back, and bucked the clouds. Rain started falling immediately, about as gentle a rain as Evan could imagine.

April Showers flew and alighted on the cloud. “It’s safe now,” she said. “At least as long as the rain lasts.”

Evan flew over and sat next to her. “What happens then?”

“When the rain is done, the cloud is gone, and there’s nothing left to sit on.”

“Makes sense,” Evan said.

April Showers leaned into Evan. She reached out her wing to touch Evan’s, but he pulled it back.

“April Showers, I have a girlfriend now,” Evan said.

“That shouldn’t stop you from having a little fun. I know you’re enough stallion to....”

Evan raised a hoof. “Let me stop you there,” he said. “I know you know that most humans prefer monogamous relationships, and even if Darlene were different, I can tell she’s not comfortable in her pony body. We’re going to leave soon, anyway.”

“That’s too bad,” April Showers said. “So, your marefriend’s a batpony? She has cute ears.”

“April....”

“Sorry.”

“My girlfriend’s a human,” Evan started, “but since she’s here, I want her to experience the good parts of being a pegasus, like flying and sitting on clouds.”

“I can help with that,” April Showers offered.

“What?”

“I do volunteer at flight camp,” she said.

“I don’t know,” Evan said.

“Look, I promise to keep my wings to myself,” April Showers said. “I’m free today and have nothing planned. Let me help her fly, and help both of you get used to living in Equestria when you’re not a guest of the princess.”

Evan was ready to say no, but then he remembered staring at an Equestrian stove, with no idea how it was supposed to work. “I know we need the help. I just hope Darlene will agree.”

Chapter 3: Market Day

The Uncle

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 3: Market Day

Back in the kitchen, May Flowers was finishing her breakfast, with Stonehoof on her lap, while Darlene was tackling the dishes. She stood on her hind hooves, leaning against the sink, as she worked. The sink was the one part of the kitchen that most resembled its human counterpart, with a faucet and a single flat handle controlling the water flow and temperature.

“Need any help?” Evan asked.

“I’m good here,” Darlene said, holding up a forehoof. The sponge Darlene was using was different, shaped something like a large doughnut that wrapped around her hoof. “Do you think you can dry the plates?”

“I hope so,” Evan said. He imitated his girlfriend’s posture and leaned against the counter, and then took a towel in one hoof. He certainly didn’t trust one hoof to hold a plate, so he dried the plate, one side at a time, while it sat on the counter.

Evan heard hooves on the floor, and turned around to watch May Flowers come to the sink, her plate balanced on her back. “I’d better give this to you before Stonehoof gets his hooves in the syrup,” she said. She then transferred the plate to the sink using her mouth.

“Thanks,” Darlene said. She carefully picked up the plate, sandwiching it between two hooves, and moved it under the running water.

“It was nice to meet you two. I just wish it was under better circumstances,” May Flowers said.

“Likewise,” Evan said.

May Flowers walked away, stopping at the door to the kitchen to wave to the foals. “Bye, Stonehoof! Bye, Rose Aurora!”

“Bye bye!” Stonehoof replied, waving back.

Once May Flowers left, Evan spoke to Darlene. “April Showers volunteered to show us around town, help us get acclimated, and also help you learn to fly.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” she replied.

“I want you to fly. It’s the best thing about being a pegasus, and you shouldn’t leave Equestria without experiencing it.”

“I don’t disagree. It’s just that, you know, April Showers acts awfully familiar for a mare you just met at the wedding.” She paused; Evan remained silent. “But maybe that’s just how ponies are.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s how ponies are.”

Darlene looked at Evan. “Oh my God. You two were a thing!” she exclaimed.

“We were a one-time thing,” Evan said. “And she promised to keep her wings to herself. Look, we need the help. I’ll ask her to leave if she does something wrong. Okay?”

“Okay,” Darlene finally said.

Evan headed outside. “We’d like to accept your offer to help us out,” he told April Showers.

She responded by jumping into the air and flying a loop.

“Remember what you promised,” Evan said.

“Right. I’m just helping you learn how to live in Ponyville.”

“Let’s get Darlene and the kids.”

Darlene had finished washing the dishes. April Showers stepped in to finish drying them. She held both the towel and the plates with her wings.

“How do you do that? With your wings?” Darlene asked.

“Once you master flying, you can feel how each feather is tied to your muscles. It’s then possible to manipulate them individually, working wings in a method similar to your human hands. That’s probably beyond my ability to teach, and I’m afraid I don’t know batponies well enough to say if they can do anything similar.”

“But you know how I can fly?” Darlene said.

“Yes. I help both pegasus and batpony foals fly, and at least through intermediate flight lessons, everything works the same.”

“So where do we start?”

“I’d recommend going to the park to practice. It will allow Rose Aurora to get some fresh air and Stonehoof to play with other foals.”

“We also need to go shopping. We used the last of the milk making waffles, and we need some kind of brush for our wings.”

“A preening comb,” April Showers said. “And I think yours is called a felt brush,” she said to Darlene. “I’ll know it when I see it.”

“How are we going to transport the kids?” Darlene asked.

“Rose has a stroller. It’s probably in the closet by the front door.”

Sure enough, a stroller, with seats for two foals, was in the closet. Evan pulled it out. It looked just like a human baby stroller. Which led to one obvious question. “How do you push it?”

April Showers walked up to the stroller. The handle was low enough to fit under her chin, and she pushed it with her chest, or whatever the ponies called that part of their body. Now it made sense why the handle had its concave shape.

It took several attempts for Evan and Darlene to get everything ready to leave the house with two foals. For Rose Aurora, they collected her pacifier, her diaper bag, and the two-thirds of a bottle left over from her last feedings. They picked up toys for Stonehoof, a toy cart and a plush doll that vaguely resembled a teddy bear. Finally, they remembered they needed the bits that Jason and Rose stored in the cupboard.

“How do parents do this every day?” Darlene wondered.

“And Jason wants even more kids,” Evan noted.

“Let’s go,” April Showers said. “Darlene, we can have you practice moving your wings while you walk.”

Darlene again shrugged, but didn’t open her wings. “I can’t get them to work.”

“Pegasus foals learn when their parents take care of their wings. For you, I will have to manually manipulate your wings so that you know the basic movements.”

“I can do that,” Evan volunteered. “Twilight Sparkle showed me how to use my wings the first time I came here.”

They stepped outside; Darlene put on her sunglasses. Evan started with the basic positions for climbing, descending, and turning. Darlene closed her eyes, concentrating on the muscles moving in her body.

“This feels weird,” she said, flapping her wings on her own.

“There’s a lot more to learn to add precision to your movement, plus stunt flying and the emergency maneuvers that go with them. But we can get you so that you can fly from Point A to Point B safely. Just don’t go above cloud level.”

“Cloud level?” Darlene said.

“Cloud level isn’t that far up here,” Evan said.

Darlene flapped her wings again. “So why aren’t I flying?” she asked.

“Right now, you just want to move your wings. To fly, you have to want to fly. Flying uses magic, and magic uses will.”

“I think I’ll wait until the park.”

“While we’re walking, can you explain to us how to use the stove?” Evan said.

As they walked to town, April Showers patiently described all of the modern conveniences, asking how each of them compared to their human examples. She explained how to use the stove, how to control the heat in the wood-fired oven, and how the ice deliverypony kept everypony’s food cold during the hot summer. She then talked about the one other appliance Evan and Darlene would have to use.

The washing machine she described sounded the hand-spun machines of decades past, although the mechanism used to spin the clothes wasn’t the same at all.”

“You run on a treadmill to wash your clothes?” Darlene said incredulously.

“It’s really the most sensible approach for ponies,” April Showers replied. “The best part of it is that you only need one treadmill, and it can operate many different machines.”

“Like what?” Evan asked.

“Nowadays, most ponies only use it for their washing machine, but my mother said her treadmill chores included pressing juice, grinding flour, and even making ice cream. She had to do it, because Ponyville was even smaller then.”

“And you buy all of these things now?” Darlene asked.

“Yes. Ponyville has a real marketplace now. We’ll go there after the park. But first, we’re going there.”

April Showers pointed with a wing to a large, blocky building in the distance. It didn’t possess the quaint architecture common to Ponyville.

“That’s Barnyard Bargains?” Evan said, his eyes picking up the sign on the building. He had heard the name on Earth, and knew it was the closest thing the ponies had to a Wal-Mart or other big box retailer.

“The original store,” April Showers said. “Well, not really original; the building’s been torn down and replaced by something larger many different times.

“Why are we going there?” Darlene asked.

“In my experience, it’s the best place to get items like brushes and combs. Since they get replaced a lot, I’d rather get the consistency of something made in a factory in Baltimare than use a hoofcrafted one.”

They soon arrived at Barnyard Bargains. Up close, Evan and Darlene saw it was nowhere near the size of the stores they knew, and of course there was no giant parking lot filled with cars. The store was busy, with pony shoppers coming and going. Many resembled them, families with small foals.

Inside, the first thing Evan noticed was a series of portraits, each of a distinguished earth pony stallion, with each pony having a cutie mark related to money. There were also framed black-and-white photographs, looking like depictions of previous incarnations of Barnyard Bargains. Other than that, the store was familiar, with aisles of shelves stacked with goods.

They passed by a prominent display, and April Showers paused. “You should get these,” she said.

“Cloudsdale Cloud Clusters?” Evan read off the sign. “What is it?”

“It’s a candy made with clouds. If you’re not in Cloudsdale, Barnyard Bargains is the only place to get them.”

“I’d ask how a candy is made with clouds, but I’m sure the answer is ‘magic’,” Darlene said.

April Showers nodded.

She directed them to the aisle with personal grooming supplies. With multiple kinds of ponies, there were multiple products. Evan spotted hoof polish, horn gloss, preening oil, and shampoos for manes, coats, and wings. He picked up the shampoo made for wings, and then spotted the kind of comb he had used on his previous trip.

“And here’s the one for Darlene,” April Showers said, holding up a brush in her mouth. It looked a little like a foam brush used for painting.

They then proceeded to the checkout, where a young pony tallied up their bill using an old-fashioned mechanical cash register. Other than the giant buttons sized for hooves, it again resembled something out of an old cartoon.

“And here you go,” the cashier said, speaking clearly despite holding in her mouth the paper bag containing their purchases.

Evan took the bag, placing it in a compartment in the back of the stroller.

“Thank you for shopping at Barnyard Bargains!” she said with a forced smile.

Now that was something Evan recognized.

Evan blinked after leaving the store; the sun seemed unnaturally bright after spending so long indoors. “Where are we going now?”

“This way,” April Showers said, pointing with her wing.

At this time of day, the town was up and about. Ponies walked, flew, and pulled carts, but few appeared to be in any hurry. They would frequently stop to chat with each other. There was a feeling of community in this small town that Evan didn’t know back home.

After traveling several blocks through the center of town, passing an eclectic assortment of buildings housing businesses and homes, the road became less busy. Now, only residences lined the street. Past there, the road ended, though a dirt trail, well worn by the pounding of countless hooves, persisted into the grassy field beyond.

The park the group now found itself in was mostly an open field. There was a wooden jungle gym over to one side, with benches surrounding it. The ponies in the park were mostly like them, families with toddlers and infants in strollers.

“Um, is this the park where the attack happened?” Darlene asked.

April Showers nodded. “It is. But don’t worry. There are ponies watching the Everfree Forest right now.”

“No one seems bothered by it,” Evan noted.

“Ponyville sees worse all the time,” April Showers said.

“I’d rather not think about that,” Evan said. He turned to his nephew. “What do you want to do, Stonehoof?”

“Climb!” the colt said.

Evan stuck his muzzle into the stroller, and undid the straps holding in Stonehoof. As soon as he was freed, the colt climbed out of the stroller and ran towards the jungle gym.

“I’ll keep an eye on the kids, and let you practice flying,” Evan said to Darlene.

“Okay,” she replied.

Rose Aurora was easy to watch; the filly was mostly asleep. Evan just had to make sure she was shaded from the sun. And Stonehoof didn’t need watching at all. The jungle gym had all sorts of steps, ramps, slides, ropes, nets, and ladders, and many times, Evan was worried he’d have to fly in and stop Stonehoof from falling. But despite lacking hands, the colt navigated each of the obstacles with ease, and so did all the colts and fillies playing with him. Stonehoof was just over two years old, and the other foals looked to be around the same age. All of them were similarly capable, showing the coordination of a human child of five or six years.

He then checked on Darlene. She was flying, by the loosest definition of the word. She was in the air and not touching the ground, though she came close several times as April Showers tried to teach her how to make a controlled descent. The native pegasus worked with her patiently, and was nimble enough to stabilize Darlene when she needed the help, and fast enough to catch her sunglasses when they fell off her muzzle.

Taking a seat on a bench, Evan turned to watching ponies. There were several adult ponies, mostly mares but also a few stallions, doing the same thing as him, keeping watch on their foals. He tried to match the foals with their parents, but got it wrong more often than not. Coloration was an imperfect predictor, and even kind of foal didn’t work. He saw earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns go off with parents of a different tribe.

Evan wondered how rare batponies were, given he didn’t see any in the part other than Darlene. He also wondered how often one would see one of the other sapient races that lived in this world.

Staying seated on the hard wooden bench was beginning to get to Evan. He got up, looking for somewhere else to sit, but then he noticed the clouds drifting above the park. He remembered sitting on a cloud on his previous trip to Equestria, and how comfortable it was. Could he grab one?

After confirming that Rose Aurora was still asleep, Evan spread his wings and jumped. With powerful strokes, he pushed through the air, gaining altitude rapidly as he ascended in a tight spiral. Before long, he was level with the low-hanging clouds.

Evan circled a cloud, one big enough to seat several pegasi. It looked for all the world like a giant ball of cotton, not a phenomenon of weather. He put his hooves on the cloud, only to have them push through it.

He stared at the cloud. Evan recalled April Showers talking about the importance of will to magic, and moving a cloud certainly counted as magic. He concentrated, picturing himself grabbing hold of the cloud, and tried again. This time, he felt an electric tingle as his hooves touched something pliant but solid.

Evan angled his wings and descended, willing the cloud to move and maintain its shape. The tingling sensation continued, and increased as he approached the ground. But before he got there, he felt a shock, like a nasty static shock, but through his entire body.

April Showers flew up to him. “You should see your mane right now!” she said, laughing.

“What happened?” he asked.

“You moved a cloud without discharging the magic through your wings.”

“Why didn’t you warn me?”

“There’s not enough lightning in that cloud to do anything more than make your mane all frizzy.” She pulled out a small mirror and showed him the results.

Evan immediately recalled touching a Van de Graaff generator in school, and what that did to his hair. He shook his head, hoping that would fix his mane.

“Here,” April Showers said, and helped push the cloud into position, just above the ground. Once there, Evan took a seat. It was a very comfortable seat.

Darlene flew up to them. Her flying had improved considerably, Evan noticed. She then did the same thing Evan did, and poked the cloud. “Does that work for me?” she asked.

April Showers nodded. “Land on the cloud and it will support you, unless you will it otherwise.”

Darlene planted her hooves on the cloud and bounced a couple of times. “Weird.” She then settled in, imitating the way Evan was sitting, like a dog.

Evan wrapped a wing around Darlene and pulled her close. She leaned her head against his. Together, they took in the clean air, the colorful ponies, and everything else his brother enjoyed every day.

“This is really incredible,” Darlene said.

“Yeah. And so peaceful.”

They were interrupted by Rose Aurora crying.

“Well, it was good while it lasted,” Evan said.

Evan jumped and glided to the ground. A quick sniff indicated that the filly didn’t need a diaper change, and so she was likely hungry. She took the offered bottle and started feeding.

Five minutes later, Evan noticed a smell. Sighing, he prepared to change her diaper. He soon realized he’d have to wait, as Rose Aurora had clutched all four legs around the bottle and she wasn’t letting go.

Evan heard soft hooffalls as Darlene landed beside him. “Something wrong?”

“Rose Aurora needs a change, but she’s not ready to stop feeding.”

“Can you wait?”

“Sure, but I’d rather not.”

Darlene’s muzzle wrinkled as she caught the foul scent.

April Showers joined them. “Anything wrong?”

“We’re waiting to change her diaper,” Evan said. “Wait. What are we supposed to do with dirty diapers?”

April Showers poked her muzzle into the stroller. “Store it in this,” she said, holding something in her mouth. The item turned out to be a thick rubber bag with an adhesive seal on top.

Once Rose Aurora finished feeding, they changed her. Darlene held the filly while Evan handled the diaper. He was amazed at how natural it was starting to feel to be using his mouth to do such a messy task.

Once the scent of dirty diaper and baby powder cleared from his nose, Evan picked up an aroma that smelled good. “Is someone grilling?” he asked.

“There’s normally ponies coming to sell food around lunch time,” April Showers said.

A quick search found the grill pony, an earth pony cooking skewers of vegetables. He had no problem simultaneously managing the grill, building new skewers, and selling the final result, a quite impressive feat using only his hooves and mouth.

“How much?” Evan asked.

“One bit per skewer,” he replied.

“Do you want one?” he asked Darlene and April Showers.

Both mares nodded.

“Let’s start with three,” he said.

Evan paid the stallion, and then three skewers of vegetables were placed on a wire tray, which was then rotated so that they could grab them by the handle. The skewers were made of wood, with a large flat handle. He glanced over at April Showers to confirm how they were supposed to be held. The handle fit snugly in her pastern.

Evan followed, and quickly ate a chunk of zucchini. It tasted far better than any zucchini he’d ever eaten before. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his pony taste buds, or because of the quality of the cook. Probably both.

Evan finished his skewer, and contemplated getting another. But he didn’t think he could eat a whole one. “Think Stonehoof would eat this?” Evan asked the others.

“I know kids are supposed to hate vegetables, but I don’t know if that applies to ponies,” Darlene said.

“I’ve never heard of a foal hating vegetables,” April Showers said. “Now, hay, on the other hoof....”

“Yuck,” Darlene said.

“One more,” Evan said to the cook.

Evan ate half of the second skewer, and took the rest to Stonehoof. “Are you hungry?” he asked him.

“Yeah!” He sat down, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth wide. “Ahhhh....”

Evan wondered if that was normal. Stonehoof was of the age where his parents might feed him at the dinner table, were he human, but as a pony he seemed a lot more advanced, and seemed to be okay eating pancakes, mess aside. But the little colt was adorable, and Evan couldn’t say no to him. He pushed a bit of squash to the end of the skewer and put it in his mouth.

Stonehoof bit down on the vegetable. “Mmmm,” he said as he chewed noisily.

The colt made short work of the rest of the food. Evan thought he might have to buy another. Then his ears picked up music, a simple tune played on tinny bells. It almost sounded like....

“ICE CREAM!” Stonehoof shouted. He jumped to his hooves and galloped in the direction of the music, with the energy that only a toddler could muster.

Evan glanced back. He saw Darlene grabbing the stroller, so he flew off after Stonehoof, to make sure he didn’t get in trouble. But the closest thing to trouble was the mob of foals surrounding the ice cream pony. She was a unicorn mare with a cutie mark of an ice cream sundae, wearing a harness and pulling a cart. She used her magic to detach herself from the cart, and with a bit more magic, an awning unfurled from it.

“One at a time,” she announced. And amazingly, the foals got into an orderly line.

“That has to be the magic of harmony at work,” Evan quipped.

After two minutes, Evan and Stonehoof were at the front of the line. “Chocolate!” the colt said.

“What flavors do you have?” Evan asked.

“The normal. Vanilla, chocolate, apple, carrot, rose, and dandelion.” the mare replied.

Evan was certainly not feeling that adventurous. “I’ll have a vanilla. Darlene? April Showers?”

“Chocolate,” Darlene said.

“Rose for me,” April Showers said.

“That will be four bits.”

Evan paid the mare, and took each pony’s ice cream order in turn, each placed in a shallow paper bowl. He looked around. “Do you have spoons?”

The ice cream mare looked at him curiously.

“What do you need spoons for? It’s ice cream!” April Showers said. She had her muzzle in the dish, which was balanced on her hoof. Looking over, he saw Stonehoof did the same.

Evan shrugged. “I guess we just treat it like an ice cream cone,” he said to Darlene.

“What’s an ice cream cone?” April Showers asked.

“It’s, like, a thin crisp waffle, rolled into a cone, and then you put the ice cream on top of it.”

“That’s a great idea! You humans have the greatest inventions!”

“Well, it is one of my favorites,” Evan said.

They sat and enjoyed the ice cream. Evan found the pony way of eating ice cream was like licking an ice cream cone, just without the cone. It was the best ice cream he’d ever tasted. And judging by Darlene’s reaction, she agreed.

When they were done, Stonehoof tried to get his sister to have the ice cream left in his bowl. But she was asleep, and probably wouldn’t have known what to do if she were awake.

“Come on, Stonehoof. We need to go to the market now, and then home for your nap.

“No!” Stonehoof said. He planted his hooves on the ground.

Evan sighed. He mentally prepared for the possibility that Stonehoof was doing what he did back at the hospital, but this time he didn’t have only problem picking up the colt and placing him on his back.

As April Showers led them to the market, Evan realized that Stonehoof had just tricked him into carrying him.

“This looks like the farmers’ market back home,” Darlene said.

Evan had to agree with her. The neat rows of wagons, the diversity of fresh produce and small craft items, and pleasant atmosphere reminded him of the farmers’ market that ran during the weekends in summer. The ponies selling the produce, many still wearing yokes or harnesses, was one difference, of course, as well as the wooden wagons being the real deal, rather than facsimiles attached to metal trailers.

“Everything smells so good,” Evan said.

“There’s no place like the market in an earth pony town to get fresh produce,” April Showers said.

“We should get some food for dinner,” Evan said.

“Like what?” Darlene said.

“Uh....”

“Pizza!” Stonehoof shouted.

“That doesn’t sound too hard to make,” Darlene said.

“What the heck do ponies put on pizza? I’m pretty sure it’s not pepperoni and sausage.”

“Peppers, onions, and flowers, mostly,” April Showers offered. “Only weird ponies put mushrooms on pizza.”

“Only weird humans put mushrooms on pizza,” Evan concurred.

“I don’t really want to eat flowers,” Darlene said.

“We’ll stick to vegetables, then.” Evan looked around, seeing plenty of choices. “Oh, where can we find the milk?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” April Showers said with a smile.

Browsing the market, Evan and Darlene found so many tasty foods. They started with the tomatoes, onions, and peppers, found the pony selling cheese, and then picked up some fresh herbs from an earth pony selling dozens of herbs. That wagon had a particularly pleasant aroma.

They had enough money, so Evan picked up some flowers. Thinking back to his previous trip, he ate mostly human food, and was curious how foods like flowers tasted to ponies.

“We still haven’t seen the milk,” Darlene said.

Evan looked down the aisle, and then saw one wagon at the end of it. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”

Darlene looked and saw it too. The pony selling milk wasn’t a pony at all, but a cow.

It was one thing to read that cows, like a remarkably large number of animals, could talk and think in Equestria. It was another thing entirely to think of them selling milk.

Best not to think about whose milk it was, either.

“Hello! How are mooooo doing?” the cow said as they approached. She had an accent like someone from northern Minnesota or Wisconsin.

“We’re out of milk, and we have a hungry filly,” Evan said.

“Aww, such a cutie, don’t you know? How many bottles?” She waved a hoof over a metal container in the wagon, something very similar to what the ice cream mare had.

“Knowing how much foals drink, we better get two,” he replied.

The cow nodded and pulled out two glass bottles, like something a 1950’s milkman would deliver. Without thinking about it, Evan picked up one of the bottles in his hoof; fortunately, it curled around it to give him a strong grip.

“That will be four bits, dearie,” the cow said.

Evan paid, and he put away the bottle he was holding. Darlene picked up the other bottle and looked at it. “Is that cream?” she said, looking at the liquid on top.

“Never bought milk before?” April Showers said.

“Not straight from the cow. And not like this,” Evan said. “The milk where we come from doesn’t separate.”

“What kind of magic do you use?” April Showers asked.

“Not magic. It’s... what’s the word?”

“Homogenized,” Darlene said.

“That. Don’t ask me how it works, though.” He looked at the bottle. “Is this pasteurized?”

“Is that a human term?” April Showers asked.

“Yes. It’s something that kills the germs in milk. Heat treatment, maybe?”

“No need for that. We have spells,” April Showers said.

“You have spells for everything, don’t you?” Darlene said.

“Yes, and if we don’t, we can ask somepony like Twilight Sparkle to make one.”

Evan and Darlene parted ways with April Showers just outside the marketplace. Evan invited her to come back for dinner, but she declined. After seeing Darlene’s reaction to the offer, he was glad April Showers had said no. She likely had picked up on Darlene’s attitude.

They strapped Stonehoof into the stroller with his sister and headed back. Walking back to Jason’s home during the daytime was an entirely different experience. The town was active, with ponies out and about. The townsponies waved to their little family as they walked by. As they neared the house, neighbors called out to the foals by name, and inquired about how Rose was doing.

“These ponies are really friendly,” Darlene commented.

“Too friendly. I’m not sure if I could get used to this,” Evan said. “Some days I just want to go home and watch television.”

“We should take the kids to visit Jason and Rose,” Darlene said.

“Good idea. Maybe after dinner?”

“Right,” Darlene said. “But right now these two need their nap.”

Stonehoof replied with every two year old’s favorite word. “No.”

“Too bad, kid,” Evan said, pushing the stroller into the house. “You’re going to nap, whether you want to or not.”

Author's Note

There's one detail I can't remember. Have we seen, specifically, ice cream cones in the series?

Chapter 4: Nap Time

The Uncle

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 4: Nap Time

After getting both foals inside, Evan worked to free Rose Aurora from the carrier while Darlene dealt with the groceries.

“Maybe we should have invited April Showers to come in,” Darlene said.

“I never thought you’d say that. Why?”

She picked up a bag with vegetables in her mouth. “Have you ever made pizza?”

“All the time,” Evan replied. “You take the pizza out of the freezer, remove the plastic wrapper and the cardboard disc, and put it in the oven.”

“I’m serious,” Darlene said.

“Mom likes to make flatbreads from scratch. It’s similar. Of course, she used a recipe book.”

“Maybe Rose has recipes?”

“It’s worth a check,” Evan said. “First, let’s get these two to bed. Stonehoof?”

“No,” the colt said.

“Yes,” Evan said, and picked up the colt by the nape of his neck.

Stonehoof whined and complained, but Evan ignored him. He deposited the colt unceremoniously on his bed.

“Not tired,” Stonehoof said.

“You’ve been playing all day. You need to sleep so you can grow big and strong.”

“No.”

The room was bright, so Evan pulled the curtains closed. “You need your nap.”

“No.”

He picked up his blanket in his mouth, draped it over the colt, and tucked him in securely.

“No.”

“Have a nice nap,” Evan said as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Evan found Darlene in the master bedroom, putting Rose Aurora in her crib. “How is she?” he asked.

“Dry and not crying. I think she’s ready to nap, but she pretty much sleeps all day anyway.”

“That’s one less thing to worry about.”

They set the filly in the crib and quietly left the room.

“Okay. Let’s get the food put away, and then we can look for a recipe book,” Evan said.

They put the milk and other perishable food items in the icebox, and then looked around the kitchen. The system of cupboards and shelves was a lot like a human kitchen. Evan wondered why, since he had to fly to reach the top shelves, and Rose would find it even harder to access them without horn or wings.

The kitchen was well-stocked with dry goods, pots, pans, and cooking implements, not at all arranged in a logical order. But there, tucked in one corner, was a bundle of yellowed papers. He picked one up. “Jackpot!” he said.

“You found it?” Darlene asked.

“I found recipes, I think. Hand-written.”

“Is there one for pizza?”

“Let’s find out.”

Evan started to flip through the recipes. They weren’t particularly organized, but he did find a section with several kinds of bread.

“Dandelion and chopped hay bread?” Evan said.

“Eww,” Darlene said.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s good, but I wouldn’t want it to be in my stomach when we go back.”

“Keep looking,” she said.

“No, no, no... here we go!” Evan said, pulling out a paper.

“Just pizza dough?”

“The dough’s the hard part. The rest is ingredients to taste, right?”

“Okay, let’s get everything....” Darlene paused as she noticed something on the recipe. “Yeast? I know we didn’t buy that.”

“Maybe there’s some in the pantry?”

After some searching, Evan found the yeast, along with olive oil. Both items looked store-bought, with plain typewritten white labels, not at all like the colorful labels he knew from back home. Even store brands had attractive labels nowadays.

Darlene picked up the large earthenware pot with the word “flour” painted on it, and brought it to Evan. She set it down, and then yawned furiously.

“Tired?” Evan said.

“I feel like I’m forcing myself to stay awake after being up for twenty-four hours,” Darlene said.

“Why don’t you take a nap? It’s not like making the dough takes two people.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Go. Keep Rose Aurora safe in dreamland.”

“I’m a batpony. That doesn’t mean I can dreamwalk, you know,” Darlene said.

“I just mean keeping her company.”

“Oh. Then goodnight. Or good afternoon, or whatever.”

Darlene left, and Evan got to work. For some reason, the recipe used the measurements he knew, cups and tablespoons and teaspoons. Whether that was the same magic that let him speak and read the language, or one of those weird coincidences, he didn’t know. He mixed the dry ingredients and yeast in a large bowl, using a large wooden spoon held in his mouth, and then added the oil and warm water.

He stirred, and soon had a big clump of dough. The next step was to knead it.

Evan looked at his hooves, the hooves he walked on through grassy fields and dirt roads, the hooves that manipulated Rose Aurora’s dirty diapers.

When it came to cooking, ponies just had to be used to that.

He washed his hooves thoroughly, and then noticed what appeared to be rubber hoof gloves resting next to the sink. He grabbed those and put them on; they were loose, but fit over his hooves.

He took a wooden cutting board, dusted it with flour, and dumped the dough onto it. Five seconds later, both hoof coverings were lost, stuck to the dough. He put them back on, covered them in flour, and then went back to kneading.

After some work, he had a beautiful ball of dough. Following the recipe, he put it back in the bowl, and then covered it with a cloth to rest. The recipe said it needed an hour to rise.

Evan peeled off the gloves and sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. The gloves had kept his hooves free of dough, and hopefully the dough free of dirt, but some of the dough had gotten into the hair of his fetlocks. It was already starting to dry, and the feeling of the dried dough in his coat was annoying. After trying a few things, the only one that worked was using his mouth, biting away at the offending dough. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience. But once it was done, Evan was finally free to relax. He leaned back, relishing the feeling of a job well done, enjoying the pleasant temperature and the faint sound of wind chimes.

Then Evan noticed two things. Looking out the window at the still rose bushes, there wasn’t any wind today. And the sound was coming from the master bedroom, not outside.

Evan jumped to his hooves and dashed to the bedroom. Darlene was asleep, curled into a little ball on top of the bed, head tucked under one wing. And Rose Aurora was up and awake, playing with the mobile above her crib. She batted at the metal suns, moons, and stars, which explained the metallic chiming.

And that was the problem. The mobile was above her crib, where the filly shouldn’t be able to reach it. But there she was, hovering above her crib, her horn glowing bright pink. And judging by the tingling of his feathers, Rose Aurora was releasing a lot of magic.

“Darlene! Get up!” Evan shouted.

Darlene stirred. “Wha...?” she said groggily.

“Rose Aurora’s having a magic surge!”

“What?” She opened her eyes, and saw the floating filly. “What do we do?”

“Crud, what did Jason say? Talk to her? Hold her?”

“We better get her. If her surge fades, she’s going to fall!”

To get to her, Evan started flying. He promptly bumped his head on the ceiling. The bedroom wasn’t that large, and he wasn’t used to flying indoors. Focusing on his wings, he flapped gently, settling into a hover, before flying towards his niece. “Come here, Rose Aurora. That’s a good girl,” he whispered.

The filly was still focused on the mobile, so Evan was able to scoop her into his forelegs. But Rose Aurora started screaming, and reached out to the mobile. Her horn flared even brighter, and she disappeared from Evan’s grasp. The accompanying magical surge made Evan’s wings seize, and he fell to the ground, knocking over the crib.

“Evan!” Darlene shouted.

“I’m okay,” he said, getting to his hooves. “Where’s Rose Aurora?”

“She’s hanging there!”

The filly had apparently teleported due to her surge, and was now hanging from the mobile. It was not designed to hold the filly’s weight, though, and the mobile fell from the ceiling.

“Look out!” Darlene said.

Evan moved to catch the filly, and Darlene jumped into the air, looking to intercept her fall. They ended up colliding with each other.

Darlene got to her hooves first, rubbing her sore head. “Where did she go?”

Evan looked around, and didn’t see the filly. “I think I felt another powerful surge through my wings. So maybe she teleported again?”

They searched the bedroom, not seeing or hearing Rose Aurora. They then started looking around the house.

“Rose Aurora? Where are you?” they called softly.

She wasn’t in the living room, and they didn’t see her in the kitchen. But Evan thought he heard something. He raised a hoof and said “Shhhh.”

They waited, and heard the faint sound of the filly giggling from... somewhere.

“Did she get in one of the cabinets?” Darlene asked.

“One way to find out.”

They opened the cabinets. At first, everything looked normal, but they eventually found one cabinet with the sugar jar tipped over, with only the filly’s rump and pink tail visible.

Evan pulled Rose Aurora out of the sugar jar. She was completely coated in sugar, and her surge still hadn’t dissipated. Thinking fast, he started rubbing her horn with one fetlock.

The sensation of touching raw magic was a strange one. It felt something like heat, something like static electricity, and like something Evan couldn’t describe. He talked to Rose Aurora softly, and she looked him in the eyes. Slowly her surge faded.

“Is she done?” Darlene asked.

As if in response, Rose Aurora started crying.

“I bet she’s hungry,” Evan said. “That magic surge probably took a lot out of her.”

“And she really needs a bath,” Darlene said.

“Yeah, look at her horn,” Evan said. The magic had turned the sugar on her horn into caramel. He felt an itching on his foreleg, and noticed more of the caramel stuck in his coat. “Can you hold her?”

Darlene held Rose Aurora while Evan prepared a bottle, using the milk they just purchased. Then he stuck his foreleg under the faucet.

It turned out the only way to get the caramel out of his coat involved pulling out most of the hair. And even when he was done, it still itched.

After finishing her bottle, Evan and Darlene took Rose Aurora to the bathroom, and drew a bath for her. It took more than half an hour to bathe the filly, with about half of the time spent trying to get her horn clean. They found a stiff wire brush to use on the horn, but even that had a hard time dealing with caramelized sugar.

“Whew,” Darlene said once they finally got her dried off.

“Okay. A fresh diaper, then back to bed with you,” Evan said to the filly.

She gurgled happily in response.

“How often do those surges happen?” Darlene asked.

“I don’t know, but I have a new respect for my brother,” Evan replied.

They righted the fallen crib and returned the filly to it. With Rose Aurora safely back in her crib, Evan turned to Darlene. “Are you going back to sleep?” he asked.

“After all that excitement, no way that’s happening,” she replied.

They left the bedroom, closing the door behind them. Evan then stopped. “Stonehoof!” he said.

“What?”

“We should check on him,” he said.

Evan quietly opened the door to Stonehoof’s room. Despite all the commotion, the little colt was fast asleep.

“Oh, yeah, he wasn’t tired at all,” Evan said.

Chapter 5: Dinner

The Uncle

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 5: Dinner

Evan and Darlene settled in the living room, leaning against each other as they relaxed on the couch. Normally, they’d watch television at a time like this, but with that not an option in Equestria, they just rested, enjoying the quiet time.

Their reprieve didn’t last long. The quiet was soon interrupted by the clip-clop of little hooves.

“I’m hungry,” Stonehoof announced.

“You had lunch and ice cream.” Evan said.

“Hungry,” Stonehoof replied.

“We’re having pizza for dinner,” Evan continued.

“Hungry.”

“You’ll ruin your appetite.”

“Hungry hungry hungry HUNGRY!” Stonehoof shouted.

“Shh, shh,” Darlene shushed him, rubbing his head with a hoof. “You’ll wake up your sister.” She looked at Evan. “We should give him a snack.”

“What?” Evan said.

“Evan, we bought plenty of food. We should use it,” Darlene said. “Besides, do you know how much Stonehoof needs to eat?”

“Uh....”

They headed to the kitchen, with Evan going to the icebox. The first thing Evan pulled out of it was the assortment of flowers he had bought. Stonehoof spotted them.

“Daisy!” the colt said.

Evan plucked one of the flowers, and offered it to Stonehoof. The colt chomped down on the flower with enough force to pull the stem out of Evan’s grasp.

Evan than picked up another daisy. He sniffed it; it smelled like a flower. He paused.

“Are you going to try it?” Darlene asked.

“I want to, but it just seems so weird,” he replied.

“Worse comes to worse, you can just spit it out.”

“I guess.” He closed his eyes and bit down on the flower. He chewed.

“Well?” Darlene said.

“This is great!” Evan said. “It doesn’t really taste like a flower. It’s like, I don’t know, some vegetable, but with a tangy and spicy taste.”

Darlene picked up a daisy. “I guess I’ll try it.” She bit off a few petals and chewed thoughtfully. “You’re right!”

“Ahh!” Stonehoof said as he opened his mouth wide.

“Here you go,” Darlene said, giving the colt another daisy.

“Let’s try the rest of these,” Evan said.

He sorted out the flowers he purchased. Darlene looked at one bunch in particular. “Seriously? You bought roses?”

“Yeah? What’s weird about roses in particular?”

Darlene pointed to the window, and the field of rose bushes beyond.

“Oh. Yeah.”

They sampled the flowers, sharing them with Stonehoof. They all had distinct flavors that their pony taste buds found appealing. And true to what April Showers had said, the colt liked them all.

“Okay, Stonehoof. You go and play. Darlene and I need to work on dinner.”

“Okay, unca,” the colt replied.

Once Stonehoof was out of the room, Darlene spoke to Evan. “Did you really use the ‘It’ll ruin your appetite’ line?” she asked.

“I did, didn’t I?”

“I always hated when my mom used that line on me,” Darlene said. “She only used that line when it came to sweets. She never said that a carrot would ruin my appetite.”

“I’m slipping into this dad role way too easily,” Evan said.

“Let’s get to work. I have no idea how long it’s going to take to make this pizza.”

Fortunately, Rose’s collection of recipes wasn’t damaged in the commotion surrounding Rose Aurora’s magic surge. They found the one for pizza sauce.

“This starts with fresh tomatoes, not even crushed tomatoes,” Darlene said.

“Ponies don’t seem to have much in the way of canned food,” Evan said.

“The sauce is supposed to be cooked,” Darlene noticed.

“I’ll try starting the stove,” Evan volunteered.

Evan thought back to April Shower’s instructions. He found the wood and kindling, and up above the stove, a box of matches. At least one part of cooking was going to be easy!

He grabbed the box of matches and opened it. It took a bit of fumbling with his lips to only pull out a single match. Fortunately, they were long enough that he didn’t have to worry about singing his nose. He looked for a place on the box to strike the match, and when he didn’t find one, he suddenly recalled cartoon characters using matches in classic cartoons. He struck the match on the floor, and it lit.

By the time Evan got the fire going in the stove, Darlene had most of the tomatoes chopped. “Need any help?” he asked.

“I got this, but could you chop the rest of the vegetables?” she replied, motioning to the pile of peppers and onions.

Evan nodded. He looked in the drawer, finding a big knife like the one that Darlene was using. The handle was very thick, and turned at a ninety degree angle from what he was used to. Following Darlene’s example, he held it in the joint between his leg and hoof. The handle fit well, and he found the grip from this joint to be surprisingly strong.

Cutting vegetables was still a chore. The tip of his hoof wasn’t as good as fingers at holding the vegetables in place. As a result, he ended with a pile of unevenly cut vegetables.

Good enough, he thought.

A pleasant aroma filled the kitchen as Darlene cooked the tomato sauce. Evan was starting to get hungry. But looking around the kitchen, he knew there was still a lot to do. For instance, there was a big block of mozzarella cheese. “Do we have one of those things to shred the cheese?” he asked.

“I hope so, but I don’t know where it is,” Darlene said.

Evan searched the kitchen, eventually finding the shredder on a top shelf. The tapered metal tower with holes looked just like the one that he remembered from his mother’s kitchen. Then he started to grate the cheese, and discovered it was hard to hold cheese with a firm enough grip to stop it from sliding out of his hoof. He cursed these ponies for not being sensible creatures who sold shredded cheese in neat bags.

“I think the sauce is ready,” Darlene said. “How’s the cheese coming?”

“I’m about ready to just drop this whole block onto the pizza and call it a day.”

“Let me see.” She inspected the grater, and then poked at the top of it. A metal tab popped out.

“What’s that for?” Evan asked.

“Hmm,” Darlene muttered. She rested the grater so that the tab and the bottom lay on the cutting board. “Maybe like this?”

With the new angle, Evan didn’t have to worry about dropping the cheese, and he was able to shred it more effectively.

“So why does this look like a man-made grater if it’s supposed to be used like this?” Evan said.

“That’s the question that’s making every scientist pull out their hair,” Darlene noted.

“Okay. All that’s left now is the dough.”

The bowl where the dough was left to rise rested on the counter, near the sink. Fortunately, it wasn’t disturbed during Rose Aurora’s little surge. Evan pulled the towel off the bowl.

“Wow,” he muttered.

“What?”

“That ball of dough looks so much bigger,” he said.

“That’s normal.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’ve never seen it in person.”

“Never made fresh bread?”

“Mom had a bread maker. It’s not the same.”

“I’ll clean off the counter. You get the flour and rolling pin.”

They set to their tasks. After some digging, Evan found the rolling pin. It looked like the one with which he was familiar, save for the handles being longer and flat, with an indentation. It looked the right size to fit one’s hooves.

He returned to the counter, sprinkled some flour on the clean surface, and then dumped the dough onto it. Remembering the need to put flour on every surface, he added some to the rolling pin before setting to work. The uniquely designed rolling pin worked surprisingly well for creatures with hooves.

He soon had the dough rolled out, and Darlene had a pan waiting for him. That left just one issue. “How do I put this on a pan with hooves?”

“I don’t know. A spatula?”

They both searched, but didn’t find anything large enough. Finally, they tried reversing the approach, putting the pan upside down over the dough, and then worked a pair of spatulas under it. They flipped it, and the dough held together. Barely.

“If we had this much trouble with just a pizza, how do ponies make Italian food?” Darlene asked.

“I actually went to an Italian restaurant. It was run by a unicorn.”

“Figures,” Darlene said.

Darlene pulled the tomato sauce off the stove. Assembling the pizza was by far the easiest part of the whole process. Evan made sure to add all the cheese, making this more like a double cheese pizza, and liberally added the chopped vegetables. It looked a lot better than a pizza from a chain restaurant.

“Now let’s get this in the oven,” Darlene said.

Evan facehoofed.

“What?”

“I forgot to start the fire in the oven.”

And as if on schedule, Rose Aurora started crying.

“I’ll get the oven, you change her diaper?” Evan suggested.

“It’s better than the alternative,” Darlene said.

The firebox of the oven was larger, which meant it was even more work to fill it with wood and kindling. By the time he got the fire roaring, the heat from the oven and stove was making the kitchen uncomfortably hot. Sweat clung to his coat, particularly where his coat and mane met.

Then he realized he needed to put the pizza in the oven. The oven was already hot enough to make him pull back.

“What does an oven mitt look like for a pony?” he asked himself.

He found it in a drawer, something made of thick fabric, but with a really odd U shape and a rubber lining. After a moment, he figured it out.

It was for his mouth.

The rubber grip was helpful in allowing him to grab the pizza pan securely, and the fabric was able to protect his muzzle from the heat. He pushed the pan into the oven and closed the door.

Darlene came back into the kitchen. “Everything good?” Evan asked.

“Yes, but that was the last clean diaper,” Darlene replied.

“You said there were more on the clothesline, right?” Evan said.

They both looked outside, and confirmed there were. “The hamper’s full, though. Want to get some exercise?”

“Huh?”

“Remember? The treadmill washing machine?”

“Oh, yeah. I guess I’ll do it. It beats waiting for the pizza to cook.”

Evan stood up, and then paused. “Do you know where the treadmill is? Or the washing machine, for that matter?”

“I have no idea,” Darlene admitted.

Evan thought for a moment. The house wasn’t very large, and they had been in every room already. There didn’t appear to be a basement or an attic in the house. But there was a shed outside.

He went out the back door and headed to the simple shed, through the orderly rows of rose bushes. The heady fragrance of roses assaulted his nostrils, and Evan found himself salivating.

Opening the door to the shed, he found it filled mostly with gardening tools, all high quality and well-tended. The treadmill sat on the floor in the middle of the shed, with a large tub attached to it. It had no handle, but there was a length of thick rope tied to its narrow end. It brought to mind a dog’s chew toy. And the rope was worn, almost as if it had been chewed on.

Evan realized that was because it was chewed on. The rope was meant to pull the treadmill, and the only way to hold it was in his mouth.

Taking the rope in his mouth, he backed out of the shed, pulling the heavy treadmill with him. He never appreciated just how strong pony jaws were until he pulled the heavy piece of machinery without even a slight ache.

Then again, having previously lifted over a hundred pounds using just his wings, he wasn’t that surprised.

He pulled the treadmill close to the house. He spotted a faucet outside with a hose attached, both familiar designs, and parked the treadmill nearby. He noticed that the wheels were on protrusions that could be rotated, revealing rubber-tipped blocks to secure the treadmill to the ground. He set it up, and then prodded the belt. With a bit of effort, the treadmill moved, and the agitator of the washing machine spun.

Evan went back to the shed, looking for something like laundry detergent. He found an unmarked cylindrical cardboard canister on one shelf. He lifted the lid and smelled something that was certainly detergent. His pony nose really didn’t like the smell.

He returned to the treadmill and started filling the washing machine with water. Water started pouring out of the bottom of the tub. He then noticed the open drain, which he plugged. Once the tub was half full, he added a scoop of detergent, using a long-handled scoop in the canister.

Meanwhile, Darlene came out of the house, the hamper filled with dirty diapers balanced on her back. “Can you help me set this down?” she said.

“Sure,” Evan replied.

Together, they set the hamper down. Darlene unlatched the top, and together, they tipped its contents into the washing machine.

“Should we be leaving the kids alone?” Evan asked.

“Rose Aurora is sleeping, and Stonehoof is still playing,” Darlene replied. “But I’ll go back inside, and make sure Stonehoof isn’t going near the oven.”

Evan helped move the empty hamper onto Darlene’s back, and she went back inside. Evan stepped onto the treadmill and planted his hooves. “Okay. Now to run. Don’t think about how to run. That’s what Jason said,” he said to himself.

His first few attempts ended with his rump firmly planted in the grass. He then tried starting the treadmill moving while standing on the ground and then getting on. That worked, and he started increasing his spread.

Then he noticed the door open. He turned to look. Darlene came out, carrying Stonehoof by the scruff of his neck. The colt had chocolate around his mouth and a guilty look on his face.

And as Evan was no longer paying attention to the treadmill, he fell off, once again landing on his rump.

“It seems, in the three minutes I was out here, Stonehoof climbed onto the counter and got his hands on the cookie jar,” Darlene said.

“Wait. The counter’s twice as tall as him. How did he climb onto the counter with hooves?”

Darlene shrugged.

Evan turned to the colt. “Did you eat the cookies, Stonehoof?” he asked.

“Yes, unca,” he replied.

‘Did you ask to have a cookie?”

“No, unca.”

“That was wrong, Stonehoof. Now, I want you to sit here quietly while I work. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Evan started the treadmill moving again and got on. He ran, not thinking about his movements, slowly picking up the pace until the treadmill started to vibrate. He kicked it down a notch and kept the pace, hearing only the sounds of the moving treadmill, the slight creaking of the wood frame, and the sloshing of water.

Stonehoof remained quiet. The colt poked at the grass and watched the insects crawling around.

Evan had no idea how long it took to wash diapers using this manual washing machine, but he would rather overdo it than not. He worked up a good lather as he ran. His instincts born of working for years in a health club gave him a good idea when to pause to rest.

He slowed down, letting friction slow the tread, and jumped off when it had almost stopped. There was only one way to check if the laundry was ready. He poked a hoof into the tub, pulling out a diaper. It was clean. The washing machine did a better job cleaning the diapers than his washing machine back home ever did for his whites.

Maybe he’d ask his brother to send him some of this detergent.

Now, there was a problem he never had to deal with in his washing machine back home—what to do with the water. He doubted the soapy water would be any good for the grass, and it would probably be even worse for the roses. Then he noticed a drainage ditch along the edge of the house. The house’s gutters let out into the ditch, and it stretched out towards the street. The slight elevation of the land on which the house rested would allow gravity to pull the water away from the precious rose bushes.

Of course, Evan hadn’t set up the washing machine near the ditch. So he turned up the wheels on the treadmill and took the rope in his mouth.

Pulling the treadmill with the full tub was much harder, and this time his jaw ached. But he had the strength to get it moving, and once moving it was relatively easy to keep it moving.

Evan drained the tub, and then filled it with fresh water to rinse the diapers. He ran on the treadmill to operate this manual rinse cycle. After he finished, there was still some soap in the water, so he repeated the process.

The final step was another run, with the tub empty and drain unplugged, to wring as much water out of the diapers as possible. This step wasn’t as effective as his washing machine back home. No matter how fast he ran, the diapers remained sodden. Shrugging, he detached the tub and placed it on his back, then carrying it to the clothesline.

He looked back over at Stonehoof; the colt had behaved the whole time. “Want a ride, Stonehoof?” Evan said.

“Yay! Ride!”

Evan picked up the colt and draped him over his back. He then got to work hanging the laundry. It was a task he had never done before, but the diapers currently drying showed him how to do it.

The clothesline was level with his head, making the task easier. He draped a wet diaper over the line, and then went for a clothespin. Their design, with the spring hinge, was exactly like he remembered from old school arts and crafts projects. Evan mused that he had never used a clothespin for its actual use before.

Clothespins, it turned out, were easy to manipulate by mouth, so this chore took very little time. Taking the dry diapers off the line, on the other hand, was a trickier matter. As he removed the clothespins, Evan tried to twist his body to catch the diaper before it fell on the ground, only succeeding a few times. But Stonehoof enjoyed each time, laughing and playing with the diapers collecting on Evan’s back.

Evan took Stonehoof and the diapers inside. He picked up the colt in his mouth, in the process dropping most of the clean diapers on the floor, and set Stonehoof down. “You go get washed up,” he said.

“Okay, unca,” the colt replied.

“Want me to get those?” Darlene said, motioning to the diapers.

“Yes. And make sure Stonehoof actually cleans up,” Evan said. “I need to put the treadmill away.”

Evan went back outside, put the tub back on the treadmill, and tugged it back to the shed. It wasn’t any harder to move, but it was tricky pulling it inside without knocking something else over. And getting out while backed into the shed... he almost ended up dumping the canister of detergent on his head.

He stepped out of the shed and closed the door behind him. It was a beautiful, sunny summer day, and Evan was intensely aware of the lingering effects of the heat and his recent physical activity. He felt like he needed a shower, but he didn’t want to go through all that hassle.

And then he recalled something he read about pegasi in Equestria.

The pegasi who worked in physical jobs, particularly on the weather teams, would often freshen up by diving through a cloud. And looking up to the sky, he spotted a few clouds drifting by.

Time to give it a try.

Evan jumped into the air, his wings drawing him skyward with powerful strokes. He rose in a tight spiral, and then flew toward the nearest cloud.

And promptly bounced off it.

He shook his head, and then vaguely remembered that the default mode for pegasi was to treat clouds as solids. He had to will himself to fly through the cloud.

And with the right mindset, he did.

The cloud burst around him in a refreshing spray of pleasantly chilled water. It pulled away the heat and the sticky sweat. The air passing over him continued to cool him, and he found himself dry rather quickly.

He definitely wanted to do that again.

“Think the pizza’s done?” Evan asked.

Darlene joined Evan in looking at the pie in the oven. The cheese was browned and bubbling, and the crust along the edge was done, maybe even a bit overdone.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think we can cook it any longer,” Darlene said.

“Okay, let’s get it out and let it cool for a bit,” Evan said.

He grabbed the mouth oven mitt from where he had left it on the counter, and pulled out the pizza. He lifted the heavy pan and placed it on the counter.

“Is there, like, a wire rack or something? I don’t want to scorch these counters,” Evan said. The counters were all sanded wood, sort of resembling a wooden cutting board. It was the kind of surface one shouldn’t use to cut raw meat, but that wasn’t going to be an issue for a pony family.

“Here,” Darlene said, pointing to a large, thick ceramic tile. She pulled it closer to the edge of the counter, having a bit of difficulty, as it was deceptively heavy.

Evan sniffed the air. At least the pizza smelled good.

The aroma was enough to attract Stonehoof’s attention. “Pizza!” the colt shouted.

“Not yet. It still needs to cool,” Darlene said.

Stonehoof pouted and stomped the floor with one hoof. Despite the colt’s size, Evan felt the vibrations through his hooves. They made his wings twitch.

“Now, go back to playing. We’ll call you when we’re ready to have dinner as a family,” Evan said.

“Okay, unca,” Stonehoof said. The colt walked out of the room.

“Kid’s going to be a monster some day,” he muttered.

“Think it’s about time to get another bottle ready?” Darlene asked.

“Probably. It will definitely be easier to feed them both at the same time,” Evan said.

They got to work, with Evan setting the table for three and Darlene filling a bottle with their fresh milk. They then picked up Rose Aurora; the filly was somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, but woke up fully once she was lifted out of her crib.

They gathered at the kitchen table, the portrait of a happy family, just with ponies instead of people.

Evan served the pizza, putting a slice on everyone’s plate. Neither he nor Darlene started to eat, as she was feeding Rose Aurora and he was cutting up Stonehoof’s pizza to feed the colt.

“Now, be sure to blow on it to cool it down,” Evan warned his nephew.

Stonehoof didn’t listen, and closed his mouth around Evan’s fork. If the pizza was hot, the colt gave no evidence he noticed or cared. He made each bite disappear instantly, and immediately opened his mouth for more.

Right after Evan finished feeding Stonehoof, he heard a surprisingly loud belch. Rose Aurora had finished her bottle, and Darlene successfully burped her. “Perfect timing,” he said.

“I don’t think we have to worry about the pizza being too hot to eat anymore,” Darlene said.

Evan turned to his waiting slice of pizza. He had never eaten pizza with a knife and fork, and he wasn’t going to do it now, hooves be damned. He picked up the pizza between his forehooves, folding it over as he did. He lifted it to his mouth and took a bite, before too much of the cheese and toppings slipped off.

He set the pizza back down.

Looking at Darlene, she had done the same. She looked at the pizza. “You know how they say that even when pizza’s bad, it’s pretty good?” she said.

Evan nodded.

“This isn’t pretty good.”

Looking at the mess on his plate, Evan had to agree. The bottom crust was burnt, while still not cooked all the way through. The cheese was overcooked, while the vegetables were crisper than he preferred. The sauce was decent, and the flavors okay, but this was not good pizza.

He looked at Stonehoof, who was eyeing Evan’s pizza hungrily.

“At least there will be plenty of leftovers,” he said.

Author's Note

I always hated the "You'll ruin your appetite" line. Knowing what I know now, I'd respond "You're wrong. It wouldn't ruin my appetite unless I ate a full meal's worth of cookies. It might ruin my hunger, but not my appetite."

And then I'd be grounded.

Chapter 6: Quiet Evening

The Uncle

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 6: Quiet Evening

“Dinner was less than a success,” Evan admitted as he put what was left of the pizza in the icebox.”

“Yes, but at least we tried,” Darlene agreed.

The only pony left happy about dinner was Stonehoof, who didn’t seem to notice the quality of the pizza.

“What do we do now? Darlene asked.

“Before it gets too late, I want to take the kids to the hospital. See how Jason’s doing.”

“Sounds good.”

Evan went into the living room and then to the closet. He came back with the baby carrier in his mouth.

“Ugh. I don’t want to have to deal with that thing again,” Darlene said. “Why don’t we just take the stroller?”

“Yeah, that would probably be better.”

Ten minutes later, the family was ready to go. Rose Aurora was tucked snugly into the stroller, and Stonehoof looked ready to gallop. The sun was low in the sky, and the weather was pleasantly warm. It was the perfect night for a stroll.

“Do you remember how to get to the hospital?” Darlene asked.

“Uhh... maybe?” Evan said. “Well, I remember how to get out of the neighborhood, and I think I remember where to go from there. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to see more of the town?”

“As long as you’re ready to deal with two cranky kids if you take too long,” Darlene said.

“It shouldn’t be that bad,” Evan said.

Once they reached the intersection of their road and the main road through town, Evan looked around. He recalled the purple house from Jason’s instructions, and vaguely remembered his directions. “I think we take a right here,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure.”

They turned and walked down the road. “These buildings don’t look familiar,” Darlene said.

“It was dark when we walked home yesterday,” Evan said.

“There are also a lot more ponies out and about,” Darlene said. She went over to a passing unicorn mare. “How do we get to the hospital?” she asked her.

“It’s a way’s down the road,” she replied, pointing behind them.

Darlene turned to Evan. “All you needed to do was ask for directions.”

Evan huffed. “Men don’t ask directions.” He sniffed the air. “Because sometimes, going the wrong way is the right way!”

“What?”

“See that restaurant?”

“Is that an Italian restaurant?” Darlene asked. The building looked like any other in this area, but the odor of garlic was quite noticeable.

“Yeah. Or Bitalian, because everything’s a horse pun. Jason took me there when I came here for the wedding.”

“You mean we could have just ordered a pizza?”

“Oh, come on. Trying to cook was fun, even if we failed spectacularly,” Evan said. “But I was thinking, maybe get some garlic bread? I know I’m still hungry, and I bet Jason would like something other than hospital food, too.”

“That does sound good,” Darlene said.

“Want to wait with the kids, while I order?” Evan asked.

Darlene nodded.

Evan patted his neck, confirming he still had that pouch of bits stored under his mane, and then trotted off towards the restaurant. The odor of garlic and Italian spices grew stronger. He could already taste the buttery, garlicky bread.

A tinny bell rang as he pushed open the door to the restaurant. It was as he remembered; with only a dozen tables, the restaurant was small enough to be handled by one waiter, a young unicorn stallion.

“How many will be in your party?” the waiter asked. He had a slight Italian accent.

“Actually, I’m just looking to order some garlic bread to go. Enough for four peo-ponies,” Evan said.

“We can certainly do that,” the waiter said. “Please sit at one of the open tables while you wait.”

The waiter headed to the kitchen and relayed his order. The back wall of the dining area was open, allowing diners to see the chef in action. Evan thought the chef was the same one he had met before, the one who looked like an Italian chef with his thin moustache and pronounced accent. He wondered if the waiter was related to him, perhaps a son or younger brother. For ponies, coloration didn’t often suggest familial relationships; even type of pony wasn’t a clear guide. But Evan did notice that both unicorns had similar curly manes.

After watching the kitchen, Evan’s attention turned to his fellow diners. Three of the other tables were occupied, one with a family of four, and the other two with couples.

Evan blinked. The couple at the table in the corner wasn’t just any couple. The mare was immediately recognizable as Princess Twilight Sparkle. He was surprised to see her, though not that surprised, given that she lived in town. But he also knew the stallion, and he was not expecting that.

The princess was sharing her table with an olive green unicorn stallion that he recognized as the pony form of his brother’s friend John. And they were sitting at a candlelit table, sharing a large plate of pasta. It reminded Evan of the famous scene from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp.

He hoped the chef didn’t have an accordion with which to serenade them.

By this time, Twilight Sparkle noticed Evan looking at her. She squeaked out an “Eep!”, and tried to shrink back in her chair. John noticed as well. He nuzzled Twilight Sparkle and whispered something in her ear, and then stood up.

John walked over to Evan and reached out a hoof; Evan took the offered hoof bump. “Good to see you again, Evan. Twilight mentioned she brought you to town, but, uh, I wasn’t expecting to run into you.”

“I wasn’t expecting to see that,” Evan said, waving a hoof to their corner table. “This looks like a lot more than just some friendly visit. It looks serious. So, that time at the wedding led to....”

“Well, Twilight will be the first to say that she doesn’t have a coltfriend,” John interrupted. “I remember being like that when I was younger, too.”

“Not ready to admit it?”

“Yeah. It always seemed like a big step, something serious, not something I was ready to handle. Give her time to get used to the idea.”

They were interrupted by the sound of somepony clearing his throat. “Your garlic bread is ready,” the waiter said. He levitated a paper bag over to Evan.

“Thanks,” Evan said.

Once the waiter left, Evan turned to John. “I wish you two the best.” He shook his head. “I still can’t imagine wanting to live in another world.”

“For years, I thought the same thing,” John said. “But you never know where life will take you.”

Evan took the bag of garlic bread in his mouth and headed outside. He joined up with Darlene and the foals, and then said “I think I know why the princess wasn’t as friendly last night.”

“Why?” Darlene asked.

“Her boyfriend’s in town.” Evan then relayed to her what he saw.

Darlene reacted with shock. “The princess who’s basically the ambassador of ponykind is dating a human? Why haven’t we heard about it?”

It was a good question. The news media covered news from the pony world with a zeal that made their coverage of past celebrities and politicians look restrained. “Maybe the ponies don’t have TMZ?”

Darlene laughed. “Guess that’s one way the pony world is better than ours!”

Evan and the others finally made it to the hospital. Just as Jason had said, they were free to visit at any time; the staff welcomed him back and reminded them of Rose’s room number. They were friendly as always, but Evan noticed one nurse eyeing hungrily his bag of garlic bread.

He found the door and opened it. Just like the previous day, Rose was asleep on the hospital bed, the magical machines doing their work. And Jason was seated pony-style on a bench; he was reading a thick book that he held in his magical aura.

“Daddy!” Stonehoof shouted. The colt ran to Jason, jumping on the bench and hugging him.

“Shh, shh, ponies are sleeping,” Jason said to his son as he hugged him back. He closed the book and set it on a nearby table.

“We brought a snack,” Evan said.

“Thanks. I could really use some good food,” Jason said. He took the bag in his magic, opened it, levitated out a slice of garlic bread, and broke off a piece. He gave the piece to Stonehoof; the colt eagerly accepted it. Meanwhile, he ate the rest of the slice.

“Is hospital food as bad here as it is back home?” Darlene asked.

“It’s not bad, but it’s made by hospital staff. Something like this garlic bread is made by a pony whose special talent is cooking. You can notice the difference,” Jason said.

“How is Rose doing?” Evan asked Jason.

“She’s responding well to the treatment. It’s just a matter of waiting now.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“So, how are the foals treating you?” Jason asked.

“Well, Stonehoof got his hands... hooves on the cookie jar the first moment he was out of our sight,” Evan said.

Jason looked to Stonehoof. “That was bad, Stonehoof. If you want a cookie, you ask for it. Okay?”

“Okay, Daddy,” Stonehoof said.

Jason turned to Evan. “One day, he’ll learn that. But it’s hard for an earth pony foal.”

“What do you mean?” Evan asked.

“Using magic burns energy, just like physical activity. And for earth ponies, that magic comes into play with their great strength. It takes a while to learn how to turn off the magic, to use that strength only when it’s needed. So foals his age keep needing to eat.”

“We saw that. It’s like he’s always hungry,” Darlene said. “How much are we supposed to feed him?”

“We let him eat as much as he wants at meal times, at least as far as healthy foods are concerned,” Jason said. “Regular snacks, but only one cookie or other treat.”

“What about overeating?” Darlene said.

“It’s not that different from human kids. If he starts eating slower, he’s getting full.” Jason shrugged. “I guess you kind of notice these things when they’re your own kids.”

Jason grabbed a second slice of garlic bread, and then levitated the bag back to Evan. “I’ll be glad when this is all over. This bench isn’t all that comfortable. And I could really use a bath.”

“Isn’t there a bathroom there?” Darlene asked.

“Just a sink and toilet.”

There was the sound of crinkling paper as Evan poked his head into the sack. “Can’t you just magic yourself clean?” Evan said afterward, mumbling around a slice of garlic bread.

“I’m doing that, but I get the feeling the spell was created before ponies knew about bacteria. So it gets rid of the dirt and grime, but not the body odor. And speaking of which....” Jason nodded his head towards Stonehoof.

“Yeah, we didn’t think about a bath for Stonehoof yesterday,” Evan said. He offered the last slice of garlic bread to Darlene.

Darlene waved off the food. “We did have to give Rose Aurora a bath after she had a magic surge and got covered in sugar,” she said.

“Oh? How bad was the surge?”

“Pretty bad, if I had to guess. She teleported twice during it.”

Jason grumbled. “I don’t know where she gets that kind of power. It certainly wasn’t from me.”

“But your advice was helpful, and we calmed her down and got her back to sleep,” Evan said.

“After feeding her,” Darlene added.

“Again, magic. She’s rapidly burning through her last meal when she surges,” Jason said. “If she only surged once, you got off lucky.”

“We’ll see if we can get through the night,” Evan said.

“It’s what we all have to do,” Jason said, looking at his wife. “Stonehoof, say goodnight to mama.”

Jason lifted the colt up in his aura and floated him toward the bed, letting him hug the unconscious mare. “Night mama. Get better,” Stonehoof said.

Jason lifted Stonehoof and lowered him to the floor, and then magically lifted Rose Aurora from her stroller. He nuzzled the filly and kissed her on the base of her horn. “Good night, angel,” he said.

Rose Aurora squirmed, but didn’t wake.

Jason returned the filly to her stroller and strapped her in. He then turned to Evan. “Thanks for visiting. It means a lot to me,” he started. “Hopefully, Rose’s parents will arrive tomorrow, and you can have the rest of your weekend back.”

“You know, I don’t mind missing our camping trip if it means visiting you,” Evan said.

“You’re welcome to stay,” Jason replied. “But these little ones need to get to sleep.”

“That’s right,” Evan said. He stood up. “Come along, Stonehoof. Time to get you home, so we can give you a bath.”

“No bath,” Stonehoof said.

“Yes, bath,” Evan said.

Jason chuckled. “Good luck, you two,” he said.

Chapter 7: A New Day

The Uncle

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 7: A New Day

Evan, Darlene, and the foals stepped out of the hospital and into the warm summer evening. Evan took a deep breath, glad to be out in the clean air and away from the hospital’s antiseptic smell.

“It sure got dark quickly,” Darlene said.

“That’s what happens when the sun and moon are under control of the princesses. No hour-long twilight like we’re used to,” Evan replied.

“Wait. You believe that?”

“All I know is what I’ve read. There were several incidents when creatures other than the princesses controlled the celestial bodies, some of them playing with them like toys, and everyone on the planet observed it.”

“But how?”

Evan shrugged. “That’s one of the big questions scientists are trying to answer. Astronomers are sure the sun is not a real star. There’s speculation it’s a giant ball of magic. In any case, they’ve washed their hands of it. The only ones who seem to be willing to treat it as real are the theoretical physicists. Something about some unified theory.”

“I didn’t know you read about that kind of thing,” Darlene said.

“Well, knowing my brother is here makes it personal, you know?”

Darlene looked to the sky. “Is one of those our sun?”

“We could be in a parallel universe, or we could be in some part of the universe too distant to see. We’ll probably never know.”

“It’s such a brilliant sky. So clear and bright.”

“It is. Everything’s so nice,” Evan said. From what he’d read, and what he’d experienced, he knew how much different the senses were in his pony body. Even aside from the whole magic sense, his eyes were remarkably sharp, and saw the night sky clearly. His nose picked up the scent of wood fires, baking bread, flowers... even the grass smelled wonderful. And his ears picked up the rustling of branches and buzzing of insects.

“WAAAAAH!”

Evan’s ears folded back out of instinct. Pony ears were very good at hearing the cries of a hungry filly.

And then his nose told him this hungry filly also needed a clean diaper.

Evan whispered soothing words to Rose Aurora, but the filly wouldn’t stop crying. As he passed the houses lining both sides of the street, he could swear ponies were watching him from the windows, judging the quality of his parenting.

And the smell got even worse.

“Let’s pick up the pace,” Evan said.

“I’m pushing as fast as I can,” Darlene replied.

“Let me give it a try,” Evan said.

Evan paused, picked up Stonehoof with his mouth, and placed the colt on his back. He then took Darlene’s place behind the stroller, making sure the handle was secure.

Evan walked, pushing the stroller smoothly, and then willed himself to move faster. He could feel the pattern of the movement of his four legs shift, but dared not thing about it, lest he end up stumbling. He trotted, or cantered, or whatever the right term was, increasing his speed up until the point he felt the stroller was slipping from his “grasp”.

To his right, Darlene was having trouble keeping up. She didn’t seem to know how to change speeds, but she found the obvious solution as she took to the air, flying unsteadily at Evan’s side.

They made it home in good time, with Rose Aurora still crying loudly. Evan pushed open the door and picked Stonehoof off his back, placing the colt on the floor. “You get the bottle, and I’ll deal with the diaper,” he said to Darlene.

Darlene nodded and headed to the kitchen.

Evan took Rose Aurora to the bedroom. He held his breath as he lifted her to the changing table, but when he had to take a breath, he couldn’t avoid the smell. He opened the box of wipes and inhaled the floral scent to try to compensate.

It didn’t work.

Evan got to work as fast as he could. He pulled down the filly’s rubber pants, which he noticed were going to have to be cleaned. The diaper underneath was a lost cause. But it still had to come off.

He looked around the room for something, anything, that would allow him to change the diaper at a distance. He thought of that child toy with a plastic claw that one would extend by squeezing a trigger. It sounded like that would be a gold mine if someone were to sell it to non-unicorn parents in Equestria.

But Evan had no choice but to use his mouth.

Five minutes and ten wipes later, Rose Aurora was clean, and Evan was wishing ponies had mouthwash.

Darlene entered the bedroom, carrying a bottle in her mouth. “She’s still crying?” she said.

Evan blinked. He was so concerned with his other senses that he completely tuned out that Rose Aurora was still crying loudly. “Well, she is still hungry,” he said. “Go ahead and feed her. I need to deal with this mess of a diaper and clean up these pants.”

Darlene took the filly. Evan took a deep breath, and picked up the toxic waste. As fast as he dared, he ran to the bathroom, dropping the diaper in the toilet and the rubber pants in the sink. The latter he cleaned with a long-handled brush, hot water, and lots of soap.

By the time he was done, Evan noticed the house was quiet again. He returned to the bedroom, and saw Darlene cooing softly over the newly quiet filly in the crib.

Evan flopped onto the bed. “I’m glad that’s finished.”

“Yeah,” Darlene said. “Wait. Where’s Stonehoof?”

Evan groaned and crawled off the bed.

“It’s amazing,” Evan said.

“It is,” Darlene agreed.

The two humans turned ponies looked at Stonehoof, neatly tucked into his bed.

“The colt who would not take a nap wants us to believe he’s sleeping now,” Evan said.

“And that, despite how much noise his sister was making,” Darlene said.

“Why, what would make him want to go to sleep without having a bath and brushing his teeth?”

To his credit, Stonehoof stayed quiet, but the twitching of his ears betrayed that he was awake and listening.

Evan reached out with a wing, and tickled Stonehoof’s muzzle with a feather. The colt started giggling. Evan then grabbed the colt. “Come on, let’s get you ready for bed for real,” he said.

“I’ll get the bath ready,” Darlene said.

“Okay, Stonehoof, let’s get your teeth brushed,” Evan said.

“No,” the colt protested. It was ineffective, since he was resting on Evan’s back, and he had no choice but to be taken to the bathroom.

Evan grabbed the jar of toothpaste, put a smaller amount on Stonehoof’s toothbrush this time, and took the colt back to his bedroom. He sat pony style, leaned back a bit, and rested the colt’s head against his hind leg.

Stonehoof didn’t look thrilled, but he seemed resigned to his fate as he opened his mouth. Evan got to work, brushing the colt’s teeth and making sure not to go overboard. He was soon done, and carried the colt back to the bathroom. He lifted Stonehoof up so that he could spit, and then helped him get a glass of water. The colt seemed a lot surer with his hooves than he was.

“Okay, bath time,” Evan said as he set down the colt.

“No,” Stonehoof said.

Evan, still with one hoof on Stonehoof’s back, turned the colt around so that he could see his watery fate. “Is it ready?” he asked Darlene.

“I think so, but it’s hard to feel how hot the water is with a hoof,” Darlene replied.

Evan looked at the tub. “Isn’t that too much water? Aren’t kids supposed to be bathed in only a little water?” For some reason, he recalled the figure six inches, but he couldn’t remember if that was the right amount of bathwater or if that was from some public service announcement warning that children could drown in the bathtub.

“Don’t ask me. You’re the one who took care of a little brother.”

“I changed diapers. Mom and Dad always handled baths,” Evan said. He stuck his hoof into the water up to his fetlock; it was pleasantly warm. “Okay, in you go,” he said to Stonehoof.

The colt scowled, but didn’t protest as his furry rump was lowered into the water. He ended up seated in the bathtub, with the water coming up to his chest, or whatever the pony term was. It looked like just the right amount of water for a bath.

Evan looked around the tub, spotting a small brush in the corner. The bristles looked like the brushes he had used that morning, but the shape was more familiar, like the handheld scrub brush he used to clean his bathroom at home. The brush was wooden, not plastic, and the visible teeth marks on the handle reinforced that in this world, nothing was handheld.

Evan took the small brush in his mouth while Darlene fumbled with the bottle of liquid soap. Even holding it with both forehooves and the claws at the tips of her wings, she had trouble keeping it still as she tried to remove the cap with her mouth. But eventually, she managed the task.

Together, the two adults turned to face their task. They saw Stonehoof raise his forelegs, grin, and bring his hooves down on the water.

The colt’s little hooves somehow displaced a remarkable amount of water. The spout of water splashed in Evan’s eyes and got in his nose and mouth. He coughed and sputtered, dropping the brush in the water. Darlene fared no better, losing her hold on the bottle of soap. And Stonehoof continued to splash in the water.

Evan had to poke his muzzle into the bathtub to retrieve the dropped items. His face was wet, and he was aware of more water landing on his body. The water dripped down his mane and landed on his wings, and he fought the urge to flutter his wings to dry them. He finally picked up the brush and bottle, and spit them out on the edge of the tub.

“Stop that,” he told Stonehoof.

Stonehoof continued to splash in the water. Some now got in Evan’s ear, and it felt as irritating as it did as a human.

“Can you hold him down?” Evan asked Darlene.

Darlene nodded and reached for the colt. It turned out the grip from wet hooves was no match for a squirming colt. Darlene was rewarded for her efforts by the slap of a wet tail across her muzzle. She reached for the colt again, leaning across the tub. Her hind hooves slipped across the now slick tile floor, and she fell halfway into the tub.

Stonehoof giggled. “Play more!” he said.

“This isn’t playtime!” Evan replied. That didn’t change the colt’s behavior. He continued to move around the tub, each splash somehow creating a targeted deluge.

Finally, Evan picked up Stonehoof by the nape of his neck and lifted him out of the water. The water dripping off of the colt was not enough to bother them. Evan looked to Darlene. She nodded, and picked up the soap. She squeezed the bottle, and covered him in soap. For good measure, she did the same with the shampoo.

“Get the brushes ready,” Evan mumbled around the suspended colt.

Darlene took the small scrub brush in her mouth.

Evan lowered the colt into the tub and grabbed him with his hooves. At the same time, Darlene started to scrub him. Stonehoof tried to get away, but Evan maintained his firm grip. Eventually, Stonehoof stopped fighting. His head drooped, and he scowled as the brush dug into his coat.

Evan felt secure enough to help with the bathing. He didn’t loosen his grip, but he did take one of the long-handled brushes in his mouth, and started scrubbing Stonehoof’s mane. Holding a brush in his mouth still felt silly, but it worked. There would be no way he could have handled this with just his hands!

After quite a bit of work, Evan and Darlene had a clean colt. Well, as near as they could tell, they had a clean colt. Dirt didn’t really show up on his gray coat. But they smelled the floral fragrance of the soap and shampoo, and not the pungent scent of dirty horse.

“Okay, let’s get you rinsed off,” Evan said. He turned on the faucet with his mouth, and then pulled on the cord with his wing to turn on the shower. He avoided getting his own mane wet as he pulled his head back. A brief rinse, and they got all the soap out of Stonehoof’s coat, mane, and tail.

Evan turned off the shower, and then reached for Stonehoof. Too late, he noticed the colt holding up his forehooves.

**Splash!**

Evan and Darlene received one more splash to remind them of this bath. As he was wiping the water out of his eyes, Evan noticed there was about six inches of water left in the tub.

They then dried off Stonehoof and set the colt down. Looking at the state of his mane and tail, they realized he needed to be brushed before bed. That turned out to be another two-person job, as Stonehoof cried out whenever they encountered a tangle in his hair. And there were plenty of tangles. Evan had flashbacks of having his own hair combed as a child by his parents.

“Go to bed, Stonehoof,” Evan told his nephew.

“Okay, Unca!” he replied as he dashed off.

“That was surprisingly cooperative,” Darlene said.

“He’s probably hoping we’re going to forget his diaper,” Evan said. “But that can wait until we towel off.”

Toweling off was a task made much easier by having another pony around. Once they were dry, Evan looked to clean up the floor. With all the water Stonehoof had splashed, he was expecting a decent layer of water. But the floor had a drain, like the locker rooms in his health club, so all they needed to do was wipe down the floors.

One diaper later, Stonehoof was finally ready for bed.

Evan and Darlene returned to their bedroom. Fortunately, Rose Aurora was fast asleep. The tiny filly looked positively angelic.

“Good night, sweetheart,” Evan whispered.

Evan joined Darlene under the covers and snuggled up next to her.

An itch in Evan’s wings stirred him from sleep. His mind soon registered the feeling of magic. He opened his eyes and spotted the glow coming from the crib. Another magic surge, he thought.

He slipped out of bed as quietly as possible and walked to the crib. He guessed it wasn’t as big of a surge, as Rose Aurora was only floating a few inches above the crib. He scooped her up in his forelegs and wrapped his wings around her. “I’m here, baby girl,” he whispered.

Rose Aurora fidgeted and fussed, the magic in her horn causing her discomfort. Evan tried rubbing her horn with his hoof, but it wasn’t doing anything. He then remembered what he saw his brother do, and tried kissing her horn.

Evan’s eyes popped wide open as he felt the magic flow into him. He felt his mane rise, as if pumped full of static electricity, and his wings felt charged with magic. He had to open them and flap them to make the charge leave his body. After a moment, the feeling of the magic passed. Looking down, Rose Aurora was now smiling and nuzzling into his chest.

Evan set the filly back in her crib, smiled, and returned to bed.

Saturday, September 2, 2023
Ponyville, Equestria

Evan woke at dawn to a quiet house. The morning birds were singing, the fragrant scent of roses drifted in through the window, and Darlene was tucked under his wing. Everything was perfect.

He hoped everything was perfect. He crawled out of bed to check.

Rose Aurora was still fast asleep. The filly probably had a wet diaper, but that could wait. Evan then checked on Stonehoof. The colt was also asleep, and had again kicked his blankets and pillows off the bed.

Evan returned to the bedroom and nudged Darlene with his muzzle. She had tucked her head under her own wing in the brief time he was gone, and she responded by pulling herself into a tighter ball of pony.

“Wake up, Darlene,” he whispered.

Darlene grunted noncommittally.

After some more nudging, she finally pulled her wing back. She opened her eyes, squinting against the early light. “Why’d you wake me?” she muttered.

“We should get up and bathe while the kids are still asleep,” he replied.

She thought for a moment before responding “Yeah.” She pushed back the covers, got to her hooves, and stretched, arching her back much like a cat before unfolding and shaking her wings.

“You did that like a natural,” Evan commented.

Darlene took stock of the way she was standing. “You’re right,” she said. “I can’t believe this is beginning to feel normal.”

“I’ll feel normal after a bath,” Evan said.

They headed to the bathroom, Darlene starting the water while Evan looked for their new brushes. After a while, he remembered that they were still in the stroller from their shopping trip the previous day. He went and retrieved them, along with their wing shampoo. He had some trouble freeing the two brushes from their packaging, even though it was just cardboard and twine. He was pretty sure ponies would never come up with plastic blister packs, unless there existed somewhere a particularly sadistic unicorn.

By this time, the tub was filled with steaming hot bathwater. Evan followed Darlene into the bathtub, and they started scrubbing each other. It went remarkably smoothly, now that both knew what they were doing.

“Let’s try this out,” Evan said, taking the foam felt brush in his mouth. He grabbed the wing shampoo in his hooves and squeezed a dollop onto the brush. Darlene, a little bit hesitant, spread her wings.

With the first stroke of the felt brush, Darlene let off a soft trill, a vocalization that didn’t sound human. But it did sound like she was happy.

Darlene noticed Evan pause. “Keep doing that. It feels so good!” she said.

Evan continued, and Darlene never stopped cooing in approval.

Then it was his turn. He spread his wings, and Darlene ran the wide-toothed comb through them. He couldn’t help but imagine she was raking his feathers. It didn’t feel as good as Darlene’s experience, but it felt right. And when she was done, his wings felt lighter, fluffier.

With their bath complete, Evan and Darlene helped each other dry off. Ready to face the day, at least after some more brushing, they pushed open the door to the bathroom.

Stonehoof looked up at them. “That was pretty singing, Auntie. Can you sing again?”

The second morning went a lot better than the first. Evan and Darlene knew what they needed to do. Get Stonehoof out of his diaper, change Rose Aurora, start a bottle. This morning, oatmeal would not be denied them, as Evan knew how to operate the stove. He stoked the fire while Darlene filled a pot with water.

“These probably aren’t instant oats, are they?” Darlene said.

“At least we have plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast,” Evan said.

They did have plenty of time to feed Rose Aurora while Stonehoof played on the floor and the oatmeal cooked on the stove. Despite the simple fare, Evan found himself drooling at the aroma. He recalled just how good oatmeal tasted as a pony, and he couldn’t wait for it to be served.

Finally, breakfast was ready. Evan filled two bowls for them, and a smaller one for Stonehoof.

“Where’s the sugar?” Darlene asked as she looked at the oatmeal. She didn’t know the secret.

“Just try it. It’s going to taste really good,” he said in reply.

Darlene looked skeptical, but took a spoon in her leg-hoof joint and lifted a spoonful of oatmeal to her mouth. “Wow!” she exclaimed.

“I know, right?”

“If oatmeal tasted like this back home, I’d eat it every morning,” she said.

“Enjoy it while you can. Let’s eat!”

The table shook as Stonehoof pounded his hooves on the table.

“Right. Let’s not forget to feed you, too.”

Between the three of them, they had no problem finishing off the oatmeal they had prepared. With how fast Stonehoof ate, Evan figured that the colt might be hungry well before lunch. But that should give them a few hours to enjoy as a family.

But first, there were dishes to clean.

Oatmeal was one food that needed to be wiped up right away. Growing up, Evan remembered how his parents would often have oatmeal or similar foods for breakfast, and then leave the bowls in the sink. What would have taken a few seconds to wash off when the oatmeal was fresh instead took minutes of determined scrubbing after it had all day to dry. And that was with hands and Teflon scouring pads.

Therefore, Evan was quick to clean up, washing the wooden bowls and metal pot with that strange hoof-sponge. Meanwhile, Darlene dried the clean bowls.

They had just finished up the last of the dishes when they heard a knocking on the door. “Is that that pegasus again?” Darlene wondered.

“I’m not sure,” Evan said. He was doubtful; the knocking sounded a lot louder and more intense. “I’ll get the door.”

Evan opened the door to reveal an older earth pony couple. The stallion had a burnt orange coat, brown mane, and a cutie mark that looked like a table leg. The mare had a bright red coat, mane in two shades of violet, and a rose bush for a cutie mark. He knew he had seen them before, but before he could remember where, Stonehoof provided the answer. The colt ran into the living room and shouted “Grandpa!”

“Hey, kiddo!” Grandfather reached down, grabbed Stonehoof, and reared, lifting the colt into the air. Stonehoof giggled.

Meanwhile Grandmother had already found Rose Aurora. She had the filly out of the high chair and was cradling her. She accomplished that without Rose Aurora crying or even fussing.

“How do you do that?” Evan asked. “They’re never that good!”

“It’s grandparents’ privilege,” Grandfather said. “You’re my son-in-law’s brother, right?”

“Right. Evan,” he replied. “That’s my girlfriend, Darlene.”

“A pleasure to see you again, and a pleasure to meet you, Darlene,” Grandfather said. “I’m Table Turner, and this is my wife, Fragrant Rose. We’re Rose’s parents.”

“That name is a giveaway,” Darlene said to Fragrant Rose.

“Roses run in the family,” Fragrant Rose said. “I can’t wait to see what this little one does,” she continued, looking at Rose Aurora.

“Did you just arrive?” Evan asked.

“On the overnight train, yes. We came as soon as we got the message,” Table Turner said. “How is Rose?”

“She’s fine; she just needs time for her treatment to finish,” Evan replied. “Your daughter was very brave.”

“We raised Rose to always use her strength to help others,” Fragrant Rose said.

“Well, we’re here to relieve you from caring for these foals,” Table Turner told Evan and Darlene. “I’d like to thank you for coming even farther than us to take care of them first. It’s really important to us that family watches foals, especially when they’re this young.”

“It wasn’t how I planned to spend this weekend, but I’m glad I came,” Evan said.

“I didn’t want to come at all,” Darlene said. “But then I figured out I’d be an idiot to pass up this opportunity.”

“Neither of us knew what we were doing, but hey, we’re all still here, right?” Evan said.

“Just consider it practice for your future,” Fragrant Rose said.

Evan and Darlene looked at each other. “Uh...” they uttered.

“Don’t pressure them,” Table Turner said. “You know humans; they don’t have a Princess of Love to help them figure things out.”

“That’s why they should take advantage of this opportunity,” Fragrant Rose replied.

“Let’s get out of here before someone gives us a wedding date,” Darlene said.

“Gotta agree with you there,” Evan said. He turned to Stonehoof, now standing balanced on his grandfather’s head. “Goodbye, Stonehoof.”

Stonehoof waved. “Bye, unca!”

“And you too, Rose Aurora.” He kissed the filly on the forehead.

They started to walk away, but they saw Stonehoof looking at them.

It took several rounds of nuzzles before Evan and Darlene finally left the foals.

It was another perfect summer day in Equestria, with completely clear skies. That made it easy to figure out their destination. Evan pointed to the giant purple castle. “Well, that’s our way home,” he said. “We still have most of the weekend to find something to do.”

“Do we have to go home now?” Darlene asked.

“I don’t suppose we’re on a schedule or anything.”

Darlene put on her sunglasses and spread her wings. “I feel like finding something to do. Here.”

Evan couldn’t agree more. Without saying another word, he spread his wings. The two humans turned ponies took to the sky.

Author's Note

Obligatory: Bats love being brushed.