Dawn, Dusk, and Spruce were in class. The room was filled with curious children looking at small clay statues sitting on their desks.

Mrs. Gray was up front, looking out at her students. "And these are going to be your best friends for the next little while." She waved a hoof at the clay ponies. "Take care of them. Feed them, wash them, do everything you'd want to be done with a little pony."

Spruce rubbed his cheek, trying to be good about all of this. "They're just tiny statues, right?" He had a feeling that wasn't really the case. It would be fun, he figured.

Mrs. Gray leaned forward with a knowing smirk. "Each will cry if they're abused or neglected. At the end of the week, they'll give me a score on how well you did looking after them." She sat back on her haunches. "If you thought your parents had it easy, here's a nice chance to break that notion."

Dawn laughed at that. "Cool! I get to have a pony." She picked up her statue and gave it a hug. "Mine is so cute."

Dusk was no stranger to magic, and wondered at what sorts were bound in their statue. They gathered it up in their magic and looked them in the eyes.

Their fellow students were muttering softly at what was going on, but Mrs. Gray continued with class. "Now, as we were discussing! We were going over foalcare and its impacts on Equestria." She folded her arms. "Here in this town, we're very community driven. When a foal becomes too much, you can ask a neighbor, and they'll lend a hoof."

Spruce settled his head down on his desk, setting his clay pony in front of him to pay attention. "This sounds kinda like something our parents do."

Mrs. Gray smiled at that. "Excellent! I imagine your parents did exactly that, especially when you were little tiny foals and they were becoming overwhelmed. Poor things, they were new to being parents, but they didn't want to mess up. But they have jobs too. Can you see how that might make trouble?"

Dusk glanced over at their sister. "What? What are you doing?"

Dawn stuck out her tongue. "Learning!"

Mrs. Gray tapped the board behind her, making a clear clack with her hoof. "Eyes up here," she called. "In larger cities, Princess Celestia has mandated that all parents should be entitled to paternity leave." She pointed with a hoof back at the statues. "And this is why."

Dusk paid attention, but Dawn seemed distracted, rubbing her clay pony and scratching its back with a hoof.

The teacher continued with a gentle smile. "Fortunately for most ponies in this town, Miss Jubilee gives very generous leaves, even if she doesn't technically have to, this not being a city."

Spruce lifted his head. "Huh? Why is that?" He raised a hoof for a moment before thinking better of it. "It's her factory, right?"

Mrs. Gray shrugged gently. "As I understand it, she sees the town as an investment. And her workers are more productive when they aren't too stressed out over the needs of their foals." She spread her hooves. "She also sees her workers as part of her extended family. So, she cares about them, and her factory. Both sides say she should make sure they get enough leave to hug and love their foals all they want."

Dusk perked up at that. "Is that why my dad was out for a long time? When he had me?"

"Right." Mrs. Gray tapped the board again, just once. "Winter took advantage of his paternity leave to enjoy being a father, and to learn how to be one. I imagine he wasn't alone." She looked around as other foals nodded with memories of their parents being close. "I bet most of you remember the first week or two of your lives like that, with lots of hugs and love from your parents."

Dawn hugged her clay pony to her chest. "I wish I remembered." She nuzzled the clay figure. "I'll give them plenty to remember."

Mrs. Gray smiled at Dawn. "Your little pony is lucky to have you. Now, let's change topics. Who can tell me the types of spells that kirins are known for?" She looked out over her students. "Miss Summer? Can you please give us an answer?"

Summer jerked awake suddenly. "What?"

Mrs. Gray snickered briefly. "Miss Summer, you insisted on attending class. Falling asleep during it doesn't set a good example for the students."

Summer put a hoof on her mouth, letting out a low cough as she cleared her throat. "Kirins are known for their fire powers. And their tempers, if you manage to get one angry enough." She looked over at Dusk with a gentle smile. "So be real good to yer little clay pony, dear."

Mrs. Gray pointed a hoof up at the blackboard. "Very good. As you know from the kirins in the class, they don't get angry for nothing. Like all ponies, they'd much rather be a good neighbor. And so, today's lesson is on just that: being a good neighbor."

She sat down and fanned out a few papers. "Ah'd give y'all a new project, but ya got them dolls fer now, so let's stick with that, hm? But, I want you to consider. The next project will be a group one, for the whole class. Think about what we could do to make the town a happier one, together."

Spruce raised his hoof, which Mrs. Gray acknowledged with a nod. "We could do a party?"

Dusk groaned at that. "No thanks! The last one was fun, but too many ponies at once can get kinda noisy."

Another student raised a hoof, the filly grinning. "We could dig a pool!"

"A nice idea." Mrs. Gray nodded at the thought. "But it'd take a lot of water to fill and keep filled."

Another student spoke up, a colt this time. "We could clean up the river? Make it sparkle again?"

"Ooh, yes, good one." Mrs. Gray stood back up on her hooves and wrote that down. "Anything else?"

Dusk tilted their head, considering it. "I second cleaning the river."

It wasn't like the town had a very large one there in the desert. It was a creek at best, and often filled with various sediments. But if it was cleaned up, it'd make for a nice water feature. Other foals soon added their support to the idea.

Spruce bobbed his head eagerly. "And we can play in it too!"

Mrs. Gray laughed gently at the idea. "Playing in it is part of why it's so murky now. Cleaning it up isn't a one time thing."

Summer nodded softly, looking out the window. "Ah wish it was a nicer river. It's jus' there, an' ah'd like it to be pretty again."

Mrs. Gray added it to the list with a little extra checkmark. "Then that may become our project. Fer now, focus on those statues. Take real good care of them. Treat them as if they were livin' ponies. They need hugs and attention."

Dusk smirked at that. "Just like foals?"

Mrs. Gray leaned on her desk. "I just said it, didn't I?"

Spruce hugged his clay pony to his chest. "You be a good little foal." Not that the statue said anything in reply.

Summer rose to her hooves as the class came to an end. "Thanks for letting me visit, Miss Gray. Ah haven't been in school fer a long time, so this was nice."

Mrs. Gray stepped over to Summer, offering her a hoof. "Pleasure to have you here. The students are lucky to have parents that are interested in their education."

Summer took the offered hoof and gave it a soft shake. "Ah remember when ah was here, in this very class." She snorted. "With you teachin' me! Ain't much changed."

Mrs. Gray lifted her chin with pride. "It's a fine schoolhouse. We do our best here, and we raise great ponies." She motioned for Summer to go to the door. "It is my pleasure to see them grow up and make Dodge Junction even better."

Summer headed out with her foals clustered around her. "Now, you take care of those statues at least half as good as we take care of all of ya."

Dusk held out their clay pony for inspection. "She's got her own name already. I'm gonna call her Misty." They grinned at Summer. "How's that?"

Spruce poked his hoof at the clay pony's face. "I'm gonna call mine Solar."

Summer ran her hoof over Dusk's clay pony. "That's a lovely name, dear." She looked down at Spruce and his clay pony. "And ya too, hon. What a cute idea!"

Dawn nosed at hers gently. "Mine hasn't said their name yet."

Summer snorted. "Give 'em time, honey." She put her hooves on her sides with a sigh. "Ah need to get back to work, but I'm happy that ya'll love yer little foals so much." She opened the door for them to head inside the house. "Be good. Yer pa'll be home in no time to get supper ready."

Spruce sat down as soon as he got inside. "Okay, okay." He put his clay pony on the floor next to him. "So, what do you want to do?"

Dusk walked over to their bookshelf and ran a hoof over the many books. "I'm gonna read a story. Got any favorites, Misty?" They chuckled softly as they took out one with a nice blue cover. "This is one of mine. Hope you like it."

Dawn pressed her cheek into Summer's side for a moment before skipping off to join her brother. "You always read that one!"

"It's always good." Dusk sat with his book in front of him. "Now, Misty. Ready for a story?"

Misty didn't reply.

Dusk snorted softly at that. "Don't need to be so shy. This is a fun one." He began reading it for his little clay foal, not seeming to mind that they were inanimate clay.

Spruce took Dawn aside and tried to whisper, though he wasn't quiet about it. "So, what do we do? Play a game?"

Dawn looked down at her clay pony before glancing over at Dusk and Spruce. "I don't want to get a bad grade." She drew her clay pony closer. "Can we play something with them?"

Dusk inclined their head. "Huh? What was that, Dawn?"

"Oh!" Dawn smiled at Dusk. "Just thinking out loud. But how about a tea party?" She grinned as she reached into a box of her toys. "I've got little hats for us all!"

Spruce joined her at the toy box, looking through it eagerly. "Okay, okay!" He got out a big teapot. "I get to pour! That's what parents do, right?"

Dawn bounced in place with glee. "Yup! Then we can make dinner together." She didn't get out anything fancy, just simple cups and saucers from her toy collection. "Got some cookies for dessert too."

Dusk laughed gently at that. "We can save the cookies for last." They took a seat with Misty. "What kind of tea party do you want?"

The two joyfully led an exquisite ceremony for a tea party being held in celebration of a sudden visit from Princess Celestia, at least in their imaginations.

The front door opened, revealing Winter. His fatigue vanished the moment he saw his foals all having fun in different ways. "Good evening." He put out his hooves and soon they were all gathered for a big hug. "I'm happy to see you all. Want me to make dinner?"

Dusk was happy to be the first to get up and give him a hug. "Welcome home, dad." They pointed at the table, where their clay pony still sat. "Misty's my little clay pony!"

"Are they? That's nice." He nuzzled each little pony, working past them in the process. "What a nice little pony." Not as nice as the little ponies he had, but he didn't say that part out loud. "I'll get dinner ready."

The children gathered around him in the kitchen, giving him reports on how their days went. They gave a special attention to how they were taking care of their little clay foals, making sure their dad knew about every step they took.

Author's Note

My mistake, I thought I had this chappy done a long time ago. To the word mines! Enjoy them, nice and fresh.

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