[Canterlot Castle] Foal For One; One For Foal (Private, Elderflower)

[Rosewind]

Pinkie Pie hopped hastily through the hallowed halls of Canterlot Castle. She was moving swiftly, the pink pleather saddlebags strapped to her sides shaking. Normally her presence in Canterlot Castle denoted some kind of event or dire emergency -- either a Gala, Changeling invasion, or perhaps a wedding of a friend or a Princess coronation. Something more serious was ahoof this time; something that would shake Canterlot -- and perhaps all of Equestria -- to its core. Through a long series of strange events involving a flood of molten chocolate, parasprites, and a bed-ridden singing cow, Pumpkin was found temporarily embargoed from her family. For this reason, Pinkie Pie was bringing Pumpkin Cake to Princess Luna to...foalsit. She could have picked any dozen other foalsitters -- one of her close friends, Cheerilee, or even Apple Bloom (she was a mature and big pony, after all!), but for reasons known to Pinkie, only Luna would do.

She found herself looking up, up, up, at an amazing, engraved door that denoted entrance to the Princess' private chambers. Pumpkin Cake clung to Pinkie's back, equally caught in awe. She was a happy little filly, her orange ducktail mane shooting up into the air like a carrot-coloured weed, a blue bow affixed proudly at the end. She suckled her little hoof, blinking her clear blue eyes in curious wonder. This was her first time in a Castle -- outside of what she knew of country life in Sugarcube Corner. Whatever was behind the door would be amazing...or scary. She wasn't quite sure which yet. She perked an ear as her current foalsitter spoke.

[colour=#ED458B]"Wooooooona! We're here!" [/colour]Pinkie said in her sing-song voice, as she banged on the door noisily with her hoof. She was never one for royal formalities -- and it was an emergency! Pumpkin held on for her dear life. [colour=#efa845]"Gaaaawwooh! Wah!" [/colour]She said, mimicking Pinkie's greeting as she held on to a lock of her curly mane...

[Elderflower]

Luna had been totally captivated by a large stack of very dull, very dry, and very official paperwork. Reading, stamping, re-organizing, and so forth – her favourite part about being a Princess! That was what she said when she was in a mood for sarcasm, anyways. Yet still, she was absorbed enough in her work that the task of foalsitting had slipped her mind until the bright and excitable voice of Twilight Sparkle’s pink and bouncy friend sounded from outside the door to the Princess of the Night’s private chambers. The Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie, was certainly as cheerful as ever!

And noisy. Very noisy. With a small sigh, Luna jogged each separate pile of paperwork (organized by unread, read, reread, and stamped) and laid them out neatly on her desk to be revisited later, the gentle blue of her magic glowing around the papers and her horn.

[colour=#6666ff]“Woona, hm?”[/colour] she asked herself before finally drifting over to the door and pulling it open with her magic.

[colour=#6666ff]“Come in, Pinkie Pie and Pumpkin Cake. And welcome,”[/colour] she said, smiling at the…very young foal. Very very young foal. Had Pinkie Pie mentioned in her letter how young that Pumpkin Cake was? Of course, she had said foal sitting, and foals were generally…young. And so tiny. The tall, darkly hued alicorn blinked down at the babe sitting on Pinkie Pie’s back and felt a flicker of nerves.

Matters of state, nightmares and dreams, raising the moon, laying out the stars...all of these tasks were easy enough for the Princess of the Night. She had countless years of practice. But…foalsitting? All of a sudden, looking down at Pumpkin Cake, foalsitting became much scarier than it had seemed like it would be in Pinkie’s letter. A thousand thoughts quickly ran through her mind: would Pumpkin Cake be afraid of her? Were her quarters too dark for the foal? After all, they were tones of navy and inky black accented with silvers and whites and the colours of the aurora – if the little thing feared the dark, even the balls of silver and blue ætheric light that were floating about would likely not be enough for her… And how does one keep a foal entertained, anyhow? And happy? Luna doubted Pumpkin Cake cared for paperwork, and she doubted the little thing would be interested in seeing her spiders or the bats that lived in her gardens. Would she be interested in a lecture on the History of Equestria? She was a unicorn…would she like magic lessons? Lectures on arcane theory and practical applications?

With her many questions still buzzing around in her mind, Luna simply said to Pinkie Pie, [colour=#6666ff]“I trust you both arrived without issue? Ah…is there anything I should…know?”[/colour]

[Rosewind]

Pinkie made her way into the Night Princess' chambers. She instantly grabbed Luna and pulled her into a crushing Earth Pony hug. Squeezy squeeze squeeze! [colour=#ED458B]"I can't tell you how much I really appreciate this! Once Sugarcube Corner is all cleaned up and repaired, I think it'll be safe for all of us to move back in. I'll be rooming up with Fluttershy, meanwhile. I'm going to throw a BIG party at her place to celebrate our new status as room-mares! I think she'll really like it. We'll have cake, and ice cream, we'll cut a rug to some serious dubtrot -- it'll be the talk of the forest! I bet all of her pets will just love it!"[/colour]

The pink mare paused. She realized she was still hugging Luna. Pumpkin Cake rolled her eyes from her spot on Pinkie's back. She blinked, looking up at the imposing visage of Luna. Her dark navy coat, her hooves, her sparkly mane swishing in the air. Her little mouth dropped open as her eyes widened. That horn. It must go into her mouth, immediately. Like a little land-bound parasprite, Pumpkin climbed up Pinkie's mane, grabbing onto her soft, pink ears. [colour=#ED458B]"Oof! Ow! What're you doing, you rascal?" [/colour]Quick as a whip, Pumpkin hopped from the top of Pinkie's head to Luna's. She straddled the horn, before plunging it deep into her mouth, nomming it like corn on the cob. Drool ran down her chin. She was in heaven. [colour=#efa845]"Mmm nom nom nom!"[/colour] Pinkie Pie lapsed into a fit of giggles. [colour=#ED458B]"Ooo, I think she likes you, Luna! Looks like my Pinkie Sense knows how to pick'um!" [/colour]She gently tugged at the foal, attempting to remove the filly toddler from Luna's horn. She tried tickling, coaxing, even singing. [colour=#ED458B]"I'm sure she'll get tired and let go eventually!" [/colour]Pinkie said in a sing-song voice, grinning awkwardly.

[colour=#ED458B]"Oh, right! Taking care of her is very easy." [/colour]She nipped open her saddle bag and dropped it. The room shook. [colour=#ED458B]"Just her baby supplies! We've got bottles, lots of diapers, pacifiers in pink, orange, and green, baby food -- she might not eat it -- blankies, cold medicine, a crowbar, eye drops, a brush, extra bows, colouring books and crayons, toys, a rattle, some headache pills -- those are just for you -- some story books donated by Twilight's mum. She wrote them herself, you know! There's a few other odds'n'ends in there that should help you. Who knows, maybe after you foalsit Pumpkin you'll want to have kids of your own!" [/colour]Pinkie slapped Luna heartily across her side, smiling like sunshine.

Pinkie took another deep breath. [colour=#ED458B]"She takes naps at 4, 6, 8, and 10. She tends to escape around 2, though if you plan ahead you can have her back in the crib around 3. She eats first thing in the morning, 11, 5, and maybe around 9. I still have the list that the Cakes gave me when I first foalsat the Twins, but you can cut it in half since you only have one!" [/colour]She withdrew a crumbled parchment, which rolled open and bounced out the door and down the hall. The long, long hall. Pinkie smiled again, testing Pumpkin to see if she was ready to let go of Luna's horn. She wasn't.

[colour=#ED458B]"That about wraps it up! Any more questions?!"[/colour]