The next morning was very eventful for Lazlo. Since he would be leaving tomorrow afternoon and would be away for about two weeks, he gathered most of the perishable food he had and took it to Fluttershy. She could either use it herself or give it to her animals.

He also made a trip to the library, as he had forgotten to ask Twilight for a few books to read during the journey or in his free time at the summit. He picked out a few promising ones, mostly adventure books, and one about the various species in this world.

Currently, he had just finished lunch and started gathering the items he planned to pack. That way, if anything was missing, he would still have time to get it either today or tomorrow morning.

He was nervous. Who wouldn’t be? In just a few days, he would be meeting several world leaders. He didn’t know much about the other nations—he had only seen them on a few maps and read some basic information. However, he knew that during the train ride, he would need to learn much more about them. Even thinking about tomorrow’s dinner in Canterlot made him feel shaky. The other representatives and ambassadors of other nations would be there, and it would also be the first time he would meet a griffon and a minotaur.

He had already met members of the pony tribes, zebras, buffalo, and even donkeys. He had also seen horses in Canterlot, but only during his transport from the train station to the castle, so his exposure to them was limited.

It wasn’t the idea of meeting species that were more hunters than prey that made him nervous, though. No. It was the fear that they might want something from him. Equestria was peaceful—well, mostly peaceful. Since moving here, he had already experienced more excitement and craziness than he’d ever expected in his entire life. But the inhabitants of Equestria were herbivores, prey animals. There were predators out there, too.

Of course, the fact that griffons and minotaurs lived in Equestria, and that this summit was even happening, proved they could be just as civilized as humans. But omnivores and carnivores had different mindsets. Humans liked to think they were above their animalistic instincts, but they weren’t—not entirely. Those instincts had simply evolved and changed over time, becoming more controllable in most situations. But they still shaped how humans had developed.

Maybe this was a different world, but many of the same rules seemed to apply here, too.

Still, the patience the other species had shown so far made it clear that Celestia was either highly respected or greatly feared among them. That wasn’t surprising, given the power she wielded—and now, with her sister back, their combined strength was even greater. It gave Lazlo hope that the other nations’ leaders were understanding and wouldn’t demand too much from him, other than offering a simple, courteous welcome. That thought helped balance the prejudices his mind had begun to form.

A series of knocks interrupted his preparation and train of thought. When he opened the door, there stood the Cakes—all four of them. Pinkie was standing a little farther away, her gaze fixed on the Cakes with a hopeful expression on her face. The twins were strapped into some sort of foal carrier on their mother’s side. They stared at him curiously, studying him as though they had never seen anyone like him before. Lazlo had only seen them in the hospital when they were born.

"Hello, Lazlo. I was wondering if you could watch Pound and Pumpkin this afternoon," Mrs. Cake asked, stepping forward slightly and angling herself so the twins were more in focus. They continued staring at him.

"This afternoon? Just for today?" Lazlo asked, wanting to clarify before giving an answer.

"Just for a few hours. We need to go to Canterlot to deliver a big order and forgot to arrange for a foalsitter in time," she explained.

"In that case, I can look after them. Do you want to drop them off right now? If so, I’ll need to quickly toss some stuff into my bedroom since I’m packing to leave for Canterlot tomorrow," he said.

"Thank you! We were thinking you could come to Sugarcube Corner and foalsit them there. We didn’t bring anything with us, and we really need to hurry," Mrs. Cake explained.

Lazlo nodded, and a few moments later, they were on their way to Sugarcube Corner. He was glad for the opportunity, mostly because it would be a good distraction. On the way, the Cakes explained everything he needed to know and gave him a detailed list. The list included things to watch out for, what to do and when—like feeding times, nap times, and even bath time.

He assured them that he would follow the list and promised that everything would be fine. He mentioned that he had foalsat before and, if necessary, Pinkie would be there to help. Lazlo suspected that the Cakes didn’t fully trust Pinkie to look after the foals alone—otherwise, they wouldn’t have asked him to come along. There was also the fact that they were in a rush and didn’t have time to show him where everything was. Having someone else there probably made them feel less worried about leaving the twins.

Lazlo knew that Pinkie could be serious when the situation called for it. She was great at cheering people up, but babies were different. They didn’t just cry when they were sad; sometimes their sobbing couldn’t be stopped with a party or a few kind words. That’s why the Cakes likely wanted extra help.

Even with all their preparations, the Cakes seemed hesitant to leave. Lazlo understood why. He wasn’t a parent, but he remembered how his uncle and aunt had been reluctant to leave their kids with his grandparents or his mother for the first few times. It was completely natural for parents to worry about leaving their children, especially when they were this young, with someone who was essentially a stranger to them. Even the Cakes didn’t know him all that well, aside from what they’d heard from Pinkie and others.

In the end, though, they left, closing the door behind them. The twins sat on the ground, watching their parents leave, but as soon as the door shut, they started crying.

Lazlo acted quickly. He picked them both up and held them close to his chest, gently rocking them back and forth. Soon their crying subsided, and they stared at him with wide, curious eyes.

"It’s okay," he said softly, smiling at them. "Mommy and Daddy are just gone for a little while, but they’ll be back soon. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for little old me. I hope that’s okay." He used the same soothing, cheerful tone he’d once used when looking after his younger sisters.

The twins babbled in response and began poking him wherever they could reach—mostly his chest and arms.

"And ME!" Pinkie shouted suddenly, startling the twins at first, though they quickly started laughing. They already knew Pinkie—she always played with them. "We’re going to have so much fun! We’ll play until your parents come back, and then we can play some more!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Okay, where are their toys?" Lazlo asked.

He blinked twice. After the first blink, Pinkie disappeared. After the second, she reappeared, carrying several toys. Most of them were plushies and colorful blocks.

The twins eagerly began playing, and Lazlo and Pinkie joined in. Pinkie helped build towers out of the blocks while Pound took great joy in knocking them down. Lazlo, meanwhile, focused on keeping Pumpkin from putting the plush toys in her mouth. At one point, she even tried to grab his hand and put it in her mouth, but he gently stopped her.

This peaceful playtime didn’t last long, though. Before long, both foals started crying again. Lazlo checked, but they didn’t need a diaper change. Next, he checked the time and the list—it was time for feeding.

"Pinkie, it’s time to feed them. Where are their bottles?" Lazlo asked. However, Pinkie was too busy making funny faces at the foals, trying to stop their crying.

"Pinkie," he pressed, "they’re hungry, and laughter doesn’t fill the stomach. So, where are the bottles?"

"Don’t worry, I got this," Pinkie said. At least she had heard him, but she continued what she was doing.

"Just bring them to the kitchen," Lazlo sighed, heading to the kitchen himself.

He assumed the milk would be in the fridge and began searching for the bottles. After going through several cabinets, he finally found them in the dish drainer next to the sink. It seemed someone had forgotten to put them away after washing them. He grabbed the bottles and noticed that each had a small piece of paper taped to it—one with a drawing of a horn and the other with a drawing of a wing.

As expected, a large bottle of milk labeled "Twins" was in the fridge. He quickly filled the bottles and placed them in the microwave to warm.

When he turned around, he saw that Pinkie had at least brought the twins into the kitchen and placed them in their high chairs. They were still crying, and Pinkie was still trying to cheer them up, though unsurprisingly, she wasn’t having much success.

The microwave beeped, and Lazlo took out the bottles. He squeezed a drop from one bottle and tasted it to ensure it wasn’t too hot. Once satisfied, he placed the bottles into the mouths of the twins, who eagerly latched on and began feeding.

"You know that’s Mrs. Cake’s milk, right?" Pinkie said with a chuckle. At least this time, she helped by holding Pumpkin’s bottle, sparing Lazlo from having to hold both. The twins weren’t quite strong enough to hold their bottles for the entire feeding time.

"I figured as much, especially since I saw the pump," Lazlo replied casually. "But I had to check the temperature. Besides, it’s just milk." He wasn’t embarrassed by the comment—it was standard procedure, something he’d learned back in his world when his sisters were babies.

After they finished eating, Pinkie picked up the twins and headed toward the main area.

"Wait!" Lazlo called, louder than he intended. The twins flinched but, thankfully, didn’t start crying.

"For what? They’re fed, so we can play again!" Pinkie said, looking back at him.

"They need to be burped first," Lazlo explained. Grabbing a napkin, he draped it over his shoulder and took Pound from Pinkie. "Can you handle her?" he asked, nodding toward Pumpkin, who was still in Pinkie’s hooves.

Pinkie nodded and mimicked Lazlo, positioning Pumpkin on her shoulder.

"You should grab a napkin or a paper towel," Lazlo suggested as he gently patted Pound’s back.

"Why?" Pinkie asked, copying his motions with Pumpkin. The filly answered her question almost immediately by burping, accompanied by a small dribble of milk that landed on Pinkie.

"No problem! I’ll just wash it quickly," she said cheerfully.

Once the burping was done, Pinkie took the twins back to the main area, leaving Lazlo to clean up. He groaned as he put away the bottles and washed what needed to be cleaned. While Pinkie’s behavior annoyed him a little, at least she had helped when necessary. Handling two foals wasn’t easy, especially since they were proper twins and seemed to do—and need—everything at the same time.

After finishing the cleanup, Lazlo returned to where Pinkie was playing with the foals. He sighed as he pulled out a chair and sat down to rest. He was already feeling a bit tired. Checking the list, he noted that there wasn’t anything scheduled for over an hour. Lazlo leaned back in his chair, hoping to enjoy a few peaceful moments, knowing full well they wouldn’t last long. Though Pinkie’s loud antics occasionally hurt his ears, he tried his best to tune them out.

As time passed, Pinkie began to look frustrated. The twins were mostly playing by themselves. When Pinkie tried to join in, they mostly ignored her or when they let her take part of a game, it was like tag, running away from her as she tried to catch them. It seemed Pinkie had her own ideas for what to play, but in this case, the foals were clearly in charge.

Eventually, Lazlo joined in, playing the role of a monster chasing after them. When he caught one of the twins, he would lightly tickle them before letting them escape. The foals squealed with delight, but before long, they returned to stacking colorful blocks, giving everyone a chance to rest again. Even Pinkie looked a little tired by this point.

But the calm moment didn’t last long, as a distinct smell wafted through the air.

"Oh... I think somepony needs a diaper change," Pinkie said, holding a hoof to her nose—though it did little to block the smell.

"Probably both of them," Lazlo muttered with a sigh. "They do everything together at the same time, so why not shit themselves, too?" He said with a sigh.

Pinkie slapped him lightly on the arm.

"No bad words in front of babies!" she scolded.

"Not like they’re going to remember it," Lazlo replied, rubbing his cheek. "But you’re right. That wasn’t intentional."

He walked over to the twins to check, and his guess was correct—they both needed a diaper change.

"Okay, I’ll change Pound, you change Pumpkin," he told Pinkie.

He grabbed Pound, who initially protested being pulled away from his game but soon started crying as the discomfort from his diaper caught up to him. Lazlo worked quickly, though it wasn’t easy. The colt kept trying to squirm away, but Lazlo held him steady and hummed a little tune. The melody seemed to calm Pound down, or at least distract him enough to stay still for a few moments.

"There, isn’t that better?" Lazlo asked as he placed Pound back on the ground. The colt happily returned to playing with the blocks.

Looking over, Lazlo noticed that Pumpkin was also back to playing—but she wasn’t wearing a diaper. He turned to Pinkie, only to see that she was wearing the diaper herself.

"Pinkie," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You know you can take breaks if you need to." He couldn’t resist making a joke. "Though, I’m more curious... how did that thing even fit you?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I don’t know!" Pinkie groaned. "She slipped away while I was trying to put it on her. Then she started levitating herself to get away, and somehow I ended up like this!" She sounded far less cheerful than she had a few hours ago.

Lazlo sighed, grabbed another diaper, and picked up Pumpkin. Just like her brother, she tried her best to escape, using her magic to lift herself out of his grasp. It wasn’t easy, but the same trick worked—humming softly helped distract her long enough for him to secure the new diaper.

"It’s harder than I thought it’d be," Pinkie admitted as she watched the twins playing. "How do you do it so well?" she asked Lazlo.

"I wouldn’t call myself good, but I’ve had some practice," Lazlo said with a shrug.

"Well, I’m still better at making them laugh," Pinkie said, frowning. She got up and joined the twins, but it seemed they didn’t want to play with her at the moment.

Pinkie was a bit forceful in trying to get their attention, and the twins almost started crying before Lazlo stepped in. He gently pulled the mare back and shook his head.

"Let them play how they want," he said simply, starting to feel annoyed by her antics. So far, he had done most of the work while Pinkie acted more like a sidekick. Her main contribution was keeping an eye on the foals while Lazlo handled tasks from the list. Otherwise, she felt more like an annoyance than a valuable assistant. While it was understandable for the foals to be tiring, Pinkie didn’t have the same excuse.

Soon, it was time for a bath. Over the last hour, Lazlo had to step in several times—Pound kept getting rowdy while playing, and Pumpkin kept trying to put things in her mouth. When he announced it was bath time, Pinkie bolted off, shouting that she’d prepare it. Lazlo sighed, picked up the twins, and carried them toward the bathroom. Though they struggled at first, they soon began giggling, enjoying the ride and looking around excitedly.

By the time Lazlo entered the bathroom, the bath was ready. He started taking the twins out of their diapers, but they decided they’d rather play tag and ran around the bathroom. Lazlo sighed and began trying to catch them. Pinkie joined the "hunt," but instead of helping, she repeatedly went after the same foal as Lazlo, making the process even harder.

After a few minutes, they finally managed to get the twins into the water, but they didn’t like it and began crying. Pinkie tried to cheer them up by dumping a bunch of toys into the water, but it didn’t work.

Lazlo decided to wash them quickly to get it over with. He grabbed some shampoo, rubbed it into his hands, and began washing them. Pinkie, however, continued trying to play with the twins, which only made things worse. Lazlo tried to be playful as well, hoping to distract them while washing, but the extra stimulation only overwhelmed the twins further, making their cries even louder.

The situation wasn’t helped by the fact that, after a few minutes, both Lazlo and Pinkie were soaked. Between Pinkie’s splashing and the twins’ thrashing, the bathroom looked more like a giant bathtub.

Eventually, they managed to get the twins cleaned, dried, and out of the bathroom. The process wasn’t easy, but the twins calmed down once they were back in the main area, happily playing again.

Lazlo sighed, running his hands through his hair before rubbing his temples to ease the headache building in his skull. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this stressed—probably during his first few weeks after arriving in Equestria.

For now, it was calm. The twins were playing peacefully, though Pinkie tried to join them again. As before, they didn’t want to play her game and were starting to get fussy.

Lazlo checked the clock and saw that it was time for a nap. Naturally, it wasn’t going to be easy. All babies seemed to have the same behavior—when they were clearly tired, they’d sometimes cry because of it, but still refuse to go to sleep. The twins were no different. They were yawning and getting fussier by the minute, but they protested the moment Lazlo tried to pick them up.

Nevertheless, Lazlo managed to put the twins into their cribs. Despite Pound trying to fly out and Pumpkin using her magic to lift herself out, he kept them in place by gently humming a lullaby.

"Are you sure they can’t play a little more?" Pinkie asked, standing beside him. "They clearly don’t want to sleep yet," she said, glancing at the twins as they attempted to escape their wooden prison.

"They’re tired, and it’s nap time," Lazlo replied simply, continuing to hum.

"But I didn’t get to play with them as much as I wanted," Pinkie complained. "And they still want to play," she pressed. "Are you sure I can’t just play with them for a tiny bit longer?"

"It’s their nap time. The Cakes gave me this schedule, and I intend to keep it," Lazlo said, his annoyance growing.

He stopped humming as the twins finally began to drift off to sleep. After a few moments, he quietly started walking out of the room.

"I really wanted to play with them for a little longer," Pinkie grumbled under her breath. "Are you sur—"

"Damn it, Pinkie!" Lazlo shouted, his patience finally snapping. "It’s not just about playing around! You need to be able to take care of them! Feed them! Stop them from doing dangerous and stupid things! Teach them why they shouldn’t do those things! Keep the schedule their parents gave you! There’s a million things you have to watch out for and be mindful of! Or do you want them to get hurt? Starve? Get sick, or infected? Or suffer from something worse?!"

His outburst left the room in stunned silence. Pinkie stared at him, wide-eyed, a mix of disbelief and realization on her face. But the worst part was the sound of crying—his yelling had startled the twins awake. They now sat up in their cribs, sobbing and looking terrified of him.

"And don’t yell near them…" Lazlo muttered quietly, realizing he had made a terrible mistake. He took a deep breath and turned to Pinkie. "Can you calm them down, please?" he asked.

Pinkie nodded, and went to their cribs. As Lazlo turned to leave the room, Pinkie was suddenly in front of him, holding the twins in her hooves. They still looked scared, glancing nervously between him and Pinkie.

"It’s okay," Pinkie said in a soothing voice, gently rocking the foals. "He’s not that scary. And he wants to apologize, don’t you?"

"Indeed. I’m sorry for yelling," Lazlo said, moving his hand slowly toward them. He gently rubbed their heads, trying to comfort them.

Fortunately, the twins seemed to recover quickly. They were more scared of the loudness of his voice than of him as a person. Soon enough, they were sleeping peacefully again.

Once the twins were settled, Lazlo and Pinkie left the room to clean up the messes left behind during the day. After finishing, they sat down to rest in the main area, both visibly tired.

"It’s a lot harder than I expected," Pinkie admitted with a sigh. "You’re right—it’s not just playing."

"Well, yeah," Lazlo replied. "It’s a lot different when you’re just a guest for a few hours, or even if you live there but don’t have to take care of the child. You only get to experience the fun part, not the tiring part. But both are really important. That said, I should’ve explained it better to you. I’m really sorry for snapping at you."

"It’s okay," Pinkie said with a smile. "Besides, you taught me a lot today, so I think we’re even." She paused for a moment, then grinned mischievously. "I guess we’ll head to Twilight later to write a letter when the Cakes get home. Oh, and don’t think I forgot that you’re leaving for that big meeting tomorrow and won’t be back for a while! So tomorrow at noon, there’s going to be a ‘Good Luck at the Very Important Meeting’ party!"

Lazlo couldn’t help but laugh. He listened as Pinkie started telling him about everything she was planning to bake and whatever else came to her mind while they waited for the Cakes to return.

Author's Note

Been a while and while my inspiration is still not fully recovered, I'm getting there.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
From next chapter another mini-arc starts with the summit.