If there was one thing Twilight enjoyed above all else, it was a peaceful afternoon. The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, there were many mares and stallions all going about their day, and the whole place just felt happy. She smiled to herself as she casually trotted down the streets, occasionally giving a wave to those who did so to her as she passed. Eventually, she happened upon a nearby fruit stall, owned by none other than Applejack. The two friends smiled and nodded to each other as Twilight scoured her wares. In just a short time, she picked out a massive and delicious-looking red apple, happily passing a few bits to the orange mare in exchange. With a tip of her hat, Applejack silently gave thanks to Twilight for that, before the latter nodded back and started to head off down the street again. Using her magic, she levitated her newly-purchased fruit up to her mouth and took a bite. As expected of one grown by the Apple family, it was delicious, sweet and succulent. However, it was here that the peace of the moment was disturbed. Because, as Twilight began to pass by the front of the local bakery, Sugar Cube Corner, she began to hear the unmistakeable sound of a pair of foals crying loudly from within. Although taken aback by this, Twilight soon gained a look of understanding, and chuckled slightly before shaking her head.

After swiftly finishing off her apple, she made her way to the front door of the bakery, raising a hoof and gently knocking on it. There was a brief moment of silence after that knock, to which Twilight responded by simply knocking again. This time, it was louder, and as such, it soon yielded results. The door swung open, and while Twilight had been smiling before it had done so, that smile now vanished when she saw what was on the other side. For there she was, Pinkie Pie, a mare known about town for her boundless enthusiasm and endless smiles, now looking ragged, exhausted and, most of all, unhappy. Her face was covered in what Twilight recognised as flour, though she knew not how her friend had got it there. However, it was the fact that Pinkie seemed to be wearing a diaper on her head that caused Twilight to raise an eyebrow. The young unicorn opened her mouth, ready to ask about it, when she was distracted by the loud cries once more. Looking past her friend, she saw the culprits. A pair of foals, twins in fact, a unicorn filly and a pegasus colt. The Cake children, Pumpkin and Pound. Although happy to see them again, having been present not long after their birth, Twilight soon noted the state this place was in, with toys strewn about the place alongside baking materials, messes everywhere you could see. To one known for tidiness, like Twilight, this would not do.

"Pinkie? Wha...what happened here?"

But, rather than simply giving her friend a straight answer, the pink mare instead grabbed Twilight, much to the latter's surprise, and yanked her in, closing the door behind her. Now alone together in this place, Pinkie turned to Twilight, her eyes practically pleading with her.

"Oh, Twilight! It's terrible! Mr and Mrs Cakes had to go out for this big order and they couldn't find a sitter for the twins, so naturally I volunteered thinking it's be great to spend time with the little ones, but I didn't know how hard it'd be to look after them and I tried doing everything but nothing seems to work and I think they're just getting worse no matter what I do and I haven't had any time to rest since I started and they just keep crying and crying and I never asked their parents what to do or how to do it and I think I'm getting to the end of my rope Twilight!"

As expected, Pinkie's tirade had come at a million miles an hour, with Twilight simply staring at her as all this information sank in. When it finally did, Twilight pout on a warm smile and placed a hoof upon her friend's shoulder.

"Pinkie...do you want some help?"

Pinkie nodded rapidly, her eyes practically streaming from finally being given a lifeline in all this. Nodding at that, Twilight began to walk past her, using her magic to start levitating some of the toys back into their respective boxes. But, all the while, she was thinking hard about the situation. Okay...I've got to word it right. Don't offend her this time. Eventually, she turned to Pinkie once more

"You know...you could have always come to one of us."

As Pinkie took the diaper off her head and started wiping the flour off her face, she looked to Twilight in a somewhat sheepish manner.

"Well...yeah... but..."

Twilight turned to her, seeing the mental battle she was having with herself. Understanding dawned on Twilight and she let out a brief sigh.

"You wanted to prove you could do this on your own, didn't you?"

Pinkie looked to her, somewhat embarrassed at having been found out. But, Twilight was far from being upset at her, and instead looked to her with a sympathetic expression.

"There's no shame in asking for help, Pinkie. I told Applejack as much not long after I came to Ponyville. If you say you need help, I'm willing to give it."

Immediately, the pink mare burst out into a massive smile, charging forward and holding her friend close in a crushing hug. Although briefly winded by this, Twilight soon composed herself and let out a somewhat nervous laugh. However, her smile faded somewhat as she appeared deep in thought over something, after which she let out another sigh. Pinkie caught this immediately and looked on with curiosity as she finally released Twilight. After brushing off some of the flour that had been transferred from Pinkie to her, the young unicorn cleared her throat before speaking up again.

"Although...while I'm willing to help you, I think it's important that you still learn how to do this without me."

Pinkie looked utterly aghast at that.

"But...but...but...you can fix everything! You always fix everything!"

Twilight kept a stoic expression after hearing that, giving a single nod.

"I know...but remember, it wasn't too long ago that I was out of Ponyville for a long time. And a day may come when I'll have to do that again. On that day, you won't have me around, and you'll need to be able to sort this kind of thing out yourself. Besides, you gave your word to the Cakes that you could do this. If you can't...they might not be willing to let you look after their children in future."

Pinkie opened her mouth, ready to perhaps offer some form of protest, but when the truth of Twilight's words began to take hold, she began to look away, appearing far more thoughtful than she usually did. When she finally looked back to Twilight, her smile was smaller than normal, and she gave a single nod, acknowledging her point. Twilight smiled back, and soon afterwards, the two mares got back to work, doing their best to pick up whatever mess the twins had made. As for the children themselves, they seemed to have stopped crying for the time being, instead looking on with awe at some of the spells Twilight was using to clear stuff up. When the room was tidy enough, Twilight then turned her attention to the twins, walking over to them and using her magic to levitate them up, which caused more than a few giggles for the foals. It brought a smile to Pinkie's face, seeing the twins happy again, and she followed as Twilight led them to a nearby crib, gently lowering them in and tucking them under their blanket. The foals kept on smiling, reaching up towards the two mares as they looked down on them, and, shortly afterwards, Pinkie looked to Twilight, clearly impressed.

"Wow, Twilight, you sure know how to deal with kids."

Twilight smiled as she looked to her.

"Well...it's actually not my first time dealing with youngsters."

Pinkie nodded at that.

"Oh yeah! You were there when Spike was born, right? That must have been super-hard, a little filly like you looking after a baby dragon while doing all that studying."

Twilight let out a hearty laugh at that, earning her a look of confusion from Pinkie. When the laughter died down, Twilight looked to her friend in earnest.

"Actually, it was Celestia who raised him for the first few years of my life. Like you said, I was too young to do it myself, and with all my studies it would have been impossible to look after a child on top of all that."

Pinkie tilted her head slightly, watching as Twilight began to walk away from the crib. The former soon followed her, and kept her eyes on her as she continued speaking.

"But, every once in a while, Celestia would call me to her chambers for a private study session. It was there that she kept Spike, in his first crib, so she was close at hoof to deal with whatever he needed. But, when I went over, he was upset about something, crying loudly, and Celestia, rather than sort out the matter herself, turned to me and asked me if I could cope with such a situation. I thought it was odd, but I did as I was told, so I went to him. It took a few minutes, but I got him to stop."

Twilight turned away from her friend, a look of nostalgia crossing her face.

"I guess...that was the moment. The moment Celestia decided Spike would go to me when he was old enough. After that, I visited him a few times and helped Celestia out with him, and the rest...well...the rest is history."

Looking back to her friend, Twilight smiled to see that Pinkie was looking at her, utterly enraptured with that story. But, as Twilight opened her mouth to speak, she was interrupted when the Cake twins began to cry again. Naturally, Twilight started to walk over to them, but was stopped for doing so when Pinkie raised a hoof, barring her path. Although confused at this, she looked up to see the look on her friend's face, far more serious than usual.

"Thanks for your help, Twilight, but...I think I should handle this on my own now."

There was silence between the two mares, but, eventually, Twilight broke out into a small smile, nodding to her friend. When Pinkie smiled back, she began to move over to the crib to deal with the children, all while Twilight began to walk away. The young unicorn gave her friend once last glance as she reached into the crib to pick up the foals, before looking out into the streets once more, closing the door behind her. But, instead of simply walking away, Twilight remained, keeping her ear to the door. She waited for the cries of the children, but, after several moment of utter silence, she put on that same satisfied smile, nodding to herself before finally walking away.

"Yeah...she'll be fine."