Caramel followed Nurse Soft Touch down the hall. She had to pause a few times to allow him to catch up, for Caramel was not used to holding a foal and walking on three legs, and it didn't help that he continued to worry every few steps about dropping her. Passing by a window along the hall, Caramel glanced over and looked in. What he saw inside was a dozen little cribs, half of which contained a newborn foal. A nurse moved among them, as she saw to their needs.

A orange pegasus stallion was plastered up against the window as he looked in at the little newborn foal's, his wings were fluffed out, and his tail was practically waging. The stallion glanced over at Caramel. "Two! I had two. My wife gave me twins!" The stallion proudly announced to him. "That's them over there." He said to Caramel, as he excitedly pointed his hoof through the window. Looking in Caramel saw two foals laying next to each other, one had a yellow coat with a purple mane, and the other one was reversed with a purple coat and yellow mane. Both were very adorable.

There was a time that Caramel had thought that when he had his first foal, that he was going to be like this new dad. So filled with excitement and bouncing off the walls at becoming a father. But now, recent events had tempered his happiness, and for a moment Caramel felt a little jealous of this new dad, and his jubilation, but he couldn't fault him for his exuberance.

"Congratulations." Caramel gave the new dad a smile. "They're beautiful. Your wife must be overjoyed."

"Thank you, and my wife is over the moon with joy." The stallion then waved his hoof. "And I am sure that she didn't mean it when she said that she was going to have me gelded, she wouldn't do anything like that to me, at least... I don't think so." The stallion looked worried for a moment before shaking his head, and turning back to Caramel with his blissful smile back in place. "And a congratulations to you, I see you have yourself a little filly as well."

"Thank you, little Cinnamon looks just like her mamma." Caramel managed to keep up a bright smile. It wasn't this stallion's fault that this was such a tender and personal matter, but he also didn't see a reason to ruin the happy father's joyous day, but the strain of the conversation was wearing on him, and Caramel felt the need to move on, before he lost the tenuous control he held over his grief. "Well, I should go. The nurse over there is waiting for me. Congratulation's again."

"Thank you! And you too." Suddenly the pegasus turned and grabbed a passing pony. "Hay! I had twins! Do you want to see them?!" With his hoof clamped down over the unfortunate pony, he drew him up to the window and pointed out his foals while talking excitedly.

Caramel left the happy dad and joined nurse Soft Touch who had stood quietly watching the exchange. "I know it hurts now, but in time, you will find your happiness." She assured him, as she stepped up beside him.

"Thank you. But I am happy, really. I'm happy that my sister left behind such a beautiful gift, and I am going to make sure that her gift grows up to be an exceptional mare just like how her mother was." Caramel clutched Cinnamon a little tighter to his chest.

"That was beautiful. Cinnamon is lucky to have you." Nurse Soft Touch said as they approached a door, and she opened it. Stepping aside she then motioned for Caramel to enter. Stepping though Caramel found himself in a brightly colored nursery with a small kitchen to one side. What did I just walk into? Caramel thought as he looked around. The room was ablaze with bright colors, from randomly colored furniture and wall hangings, to a patchwork of brightly painted walls.

"This is where I am going to teach you how to be a daddy. Being a good daddy though is going to be up to you, with just a little bit of hard work." She paused, as she looked at him. "So first thing first, what does she smell like?" Nurse Soft Touch asked Caramel.

What a strange question, curious, Caramel bent down gave Cinnamon a light sniff, not finding anything bad, he pressed his head down farther and nuzzled her directly and got a better sniff of her. He found she smelled rather nice, with her milk breath and foal powder scent. "She smells good."

Nurse Soft Touch gave a nod. "That means she doesn't need to be changed." Walking to the other side of the room, she stepped into a small kitchen what was built along the far wall. "It's about time for her to be fed though, so come over here and I will show you how to make a bottle. When that is done, you're going to sit over there and feed her." She pointed at a plush and rather worn rocker chair, sitting by the side wall. "As this is going to be your first time, so I'll go gentle on you." Nurse Soft Touch said as she gestured for him to join her in the kitchen. "This is going to be fun!"

Well, he thought to himself as he slowly stepped across the room. If I am going to be a father, then it's time to get to work. Nurse Soft Touch walked him through all the steps to prepare a proper bottle, and then had him do it five more times before she was sure he had it all memorized. Then she had him sit down in the plush rocker, before she explained all the different various ways to hold a foal and how to hold the bottle. After he finished feeding her, came the burping, as he soon discovered what it’s like to have about half of the bottle he had just fed to Cinnamon puked up onto him.

Nurse Soft Touch shook her head with a smirk. "Don't pat her so hard next time. The idea was to work loose the burp, not force it out of her."

Caramel had no idea. Not a clue, about everything that was involved with caring for a foal, many of which were downright gross. During the course of his schooling, he had to clean every nook and crevice of the filly. From how to clean the snot out of her nose, and the goobers from her eyes, proper hoof care and trimming and even how to properly clear out the filly's ears without hurting her. Nurse Soft Touch even made him take Cinnamon's temperature, much to his chagrin.

"Stop being a foal and do it already." Nurse Soft Touch snapped at him, gesturing with her wing for him to get at it.

"Okay! I'll do it, just hold on a sec." Caramel was really apprehensive about this. Setting Cinnamon down on the changing table, he rolled her over onto her belly. Nipping the edge of her diaper with his teeth, Caramel pulled it back exposing her bottom. Reaching over, Caramel gingerly picked up the end of thermometer with his teeth before pausing, contemplating what he was about to do.

Nurse Soft Touch stepped up close to him and whacked him lightly with her wing. "Stop staring, and just do it."

Letting out a sigh he pulled her tail out of the way, as he lowering his head down. Carefully he aimed the thermometer at the filly's anus. I can't believe I'm going to do this. Gently he poked the thermometer in.

"Slowly. Don't rush it." Nurse Soft Touch advised as he pushed it further in. "You don't want to hurt her."

Cinnamon squirmed at the feeling of what he was doing to her, and let out a plaintive mewling cry. Finally he had it in far enough and he released the thermometer with a relieved sigh.

"Good! You did really good for your first time." Nurse Soft Touch said as she patted his back with her wing. "Now wait three minutes before checking it. And remember, never, ever leave her alone while you're doing this." She added emphatically.

Caramel gently rubbed Cinnamon's back to calm her as he waited the required three minutes, reaching back down Caramel nipped the end of the thermometer in his teeth and gently extracted it out. Setting it down he checked the temperature reading. "100.4 degrees."

Nurse Soft Touch gave a nod. "Good, that's where it's supposed to be. If it's above 101 degrees, then she would have a fever."

"Good to know." Caramel said as he fixed Cinnamon's diaper, and then picked her up. "So, what's next?"

Nurse Soft Touch had a smile on her face that made Caramel nervous to look at. "Oh, our next lesson is going to be a special one, and knowing filly's like I do, we're not going to haft to wait for too much longer before starting."

Caramel was confused. What could the next lesson be? And why did they have to wait before they could start? It was then that he noticed a wet flatulent sound coming from Cinnamon followed by a most distasteful aromatic funk. Caramel could actually feel her diaper moving where it was pressed against his leg. So that answers those questions. The smell that came off of the filly was truly horrible, Caramel had to clamp his jaw shut to keep from gagging.

Caramel was about to set her back down onto the changing table when nurse Soft Touch unfurled her wing and stopped him. "Not yet. She's not quite done yet." She said, gesturing down at Cinnamon.

Not done yet?! He looked down and saw Cinnamon's little face was scrunched up with effort, followed by another wet flatulent ripple that ran through the filly's diaper as she pushed out another foul load. Cinnamon began to wriggle about, as her lower lip started to quiver. Caramel looked over at the nurse, expectantly. "Now?"

She gave him that scary smile that told him that things were going to get very interesting, and she shook her head. Already Caramel could feel the diaper was bulging out dangerously. Cinnamon squirmed in his grasp as she let out a distressed cry of discomfort followed by yet another bowel movement.

Nurse Soft Touch gave a nod. "Okay, now we can get to the fun stuff!" She said excitedly, clapping her hooves together happily.

Fun, was not how Caramel would describe the following lesson. She reminded him that this was something he was going to haft to get used to, as foal's tended to do it quite often. And for the first time in his life, Caramel had to clean a little filly's vagina. During the entire process, the nurse kept telling him to stop acting like a little colt and stallion up, and that little filly, filly bits needed to be cleaned regularly to prevent infections.

In the short span of a few hours, Caramel ran through a grueling gauntlet of feeding, burping, bathing, holding, wiping, cleaning, rocking, swaddling, calming, and changing. Involving himself in every orifice that the filly had. Being a parent was by far the grossest most disgusting job that there ever was. But as he looked down into Cinnamon's lavender eyes, Caramel couldn't help but smile at her. He was determined to do this, and In the end, nurse Soft Touch gave him a passing grade, as well as an apology, for calling Caramel a few unfaltering names for how much he whined, when she had given him a snot bulb and told him to clean the snot out of Cinnamon's nostrils.

Finished with his crash course in fatherhood, and reeking like sour milk. Caramel at last stood before the discharge desk and was signing his life away, quiet literally in fact. Finally with the last scrawl of his name on the final page, it was done, he was now her guardian, and Cinnamon was now his. He felt both happy and scared out of his mind, as he set the pin down. This was all just so overwhelming, he never expected when he came in those doors earlier, that he would ever be leaving with a foal to care for.

Looking down at his niece, he made sure she was secure in her foal carrier, that was slung around his neck. Caramel was pleased to find that it was a much easier to carry her this way. Upon his back was two large bags full of baby stuff. From formula and bottles to diapers and wipes, with everything in between. A gift from the hospital, a sort of starter kit for new parents.

Bending his head down Caramel nuzzled Cinnamon on her head and gave her a kiss. A bright flash and a click made him jerk his head up and look around for the source. Not far from him, nurse Soft Touch lowered a camera. "Sorry, that was just so adorable and I couldn't pass it up. Smile!" Lifting the camera back up, nurse Soft Touch prepared to take another picture. Caramel lifted his head so it wouldn't block the shot of Cinnamon, and he flashed his best smile. With another bright flash another picture was taken.

Cinnamon flinched, and started to cry from the startling flash. Her little voice shrieking out loudly, as she squirmed and flailed her limbs. Lowing his head down to her, Caramel started to nuzzle her behind her ears, as he murmured softly to her.

"It's okay, I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. The mean flash has gone away, and won't bother you anymore." Reaching up, he rubbed her belly as he spoke. Her wails started to die down as his comforting words and gentle rubbing began to calm her.

Nurse Soft Touch watched him as he worked to calm the filly, she stepped to the desk and set down the camera. "Very good! Your being a good daddy already, keep it up." She praised him.

Once the filly had quieted down Caramel heaved a relieved sigh, and gave Cinnamon a kiss between her ears. "Thank you, but I'm still not sure I am ready for this." Of course who would? Just a few hours ago, he was just a normal bachelor looking out for just himself, only to suddenly have a foal quite literally dropped into his lap, and was told to make the biggest and most life changing choice he had ever had to face.

"Nonsense. You're doing fine. You're a natural." Nurse Soft Touch said laying her wing over his shoulder. "Just take it one step at a time. Focus on the little things first, then move on to the bigger things. That way you won't get overwhelmed. Remember, foal's are really quite simple if you think about it. Food, warmth, and love, with a little cleaning mixed in. That's all they really need, everything else if superfluous.

Caramel grinned. The way she made it so simple was amazing. "Food, warmth, and love, with a little cleaning mixed in. You make it sound so easy."

"If you think about it, it really is just that easy." Nurse Soft Touch removed her wing from his shoulder and stepped around. "There is a special wall in the nurses break room where we hang pictures of special cases. The picture I just took of you will be going there, but if you give me your address, then I will make sure that you get a copy for yourself." Moving next to the desk she slid over a pad and pencil for him to use.

Writing down his address, Caramel was surprised by a pair of lips that made contact with his cheek in a kiss. Blinking, he looked over into the pretty face of nurse Soft Touch as she stepped back, a sheepish smile on her lips.

"You kissed me!" Caramel accused her, as he felt himself blush. It wasn't everyday that he got a kiss from a cute mare, even if she was ten years older than him.

"Well, I believe you deserved it." Nurse Soft Touch replied grinning. "I admire a stallion willing to do what you've done for Cinnamon."

Caramel didn't know what to say, as he felt his blush spread up to his ears. "Well, ah. Thank you. You've done so much to help me and Cinnamon, I really appreciate it. I would be totally lost if you hadn't have been there to show me what to do."

Nurse Soft Touch flashed him that warm smile of hers. "Just thank me by raising that little filly right. She deserves to be happy, and I believe you have it in you to do that. Take care, and good luck." She said in farewell.

Caramel smiled and nodded to her. "I will, I promise." Stepping away, he turned and stepped through the doors he had just hours before rushed in. Now outside, Caramel saw the sun was now sitting low behind the tall buildings, as they cast their long shadows across the streets. This was it, it was now just him and Cinnamon, his every choice from now on was going to affect her, as she was absolutely dependent on his care for her.

Standing on the corner he looked down and checked on Cinnamon, and saw her eyes drooping closed. Soon she was sound asleep, oblivious to the world, as the trolley arrived, pulled by two large earth pony stallions. Caramel tossed a bit into the payment bin before he climbed on and took an empty seat.

The ride though the city was uneventful, but though the entire ride Caramel worriedly kept checking on Cinnamon, only to find that his worry was unnecessary as she slept through the entire trip. The sun had just set by the time they arrived at his sister's apartment, and warily Caramel climbed the steps to her apartment. Unlocking the door, Caramel stepped into his sister's apartment. Turning on the light he took a look around.

Fudge always kept a tidy place, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Moving to the kitchen table Caramel started to unpack the bags he got from the hospital. Caramel heard a flatulent noise and a shudder come from Cinnamon, soon followed by a foul smell. "Well, some little princess needs her diaper changed." Caramel murmured quietly as he crinkled his nose at the sudden stench. Cinnamon was growing uncomfortable with her loaded diaper and was starting to let him know by squirming her her carrier and letting out a mewling cry that was growing in volume as her discomfort grew. "I know, I know. I'm working on it." Caramel reassured her.

Caramel continued to unpack searching for what he needed. The bottles and formula he set out in the kitchen. "Oh! What a powerful funk you have." Caramel remarked to a crying Cinnamon before pulling out the diapers, and wipes. Looking hurriedly around he set off to find where Fudge had placed her changing table, he was sure she had gotten one.

Stepping up to the spare bedroom, Caramel looked in and found that Fudge had finished making it into the nursery. He saw against the near wall was a crib, and on the side wall he found the changing table and next to it was a large pillow meant for a mare to lay out on so she could teat feed comfortably. Along the other wall was a small bookcase full of what appeared to be foal care books.

Crossing to the changing table, Caramel found that his sister was already set, with everything needed to change a diaper already in place, neatly organized and ready for use. Lifting Cinnamon out of her carrier, Caramel laid her down on the changing table. "Okay, just like how she showed me. I can do this." Caramel encourage himself, as he looked down at his niece, who was busy showing her annoyance by crying at the top of her lungs, with her cute little face all scrunched up.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself for what he was about to do for the first time without help. Caramel opened her diaper, and examined the mess she had made, which was quite runny and threatened to flow out of the diaper. "Is it supposed to be this runny?" Caramel said to himself. "Ugh, and the smell! Cinnamon I thought you liked me, why would you do this to me?!"

Pinching his fetlock around her two lower hooves, he lifted her rump off the bottom half of the diaper and slid it out from under her, being careful not to snag her tail and pull it into the mess. "What a disaster! You should be proud, you absolutely destroyed a perfectly good diaper."

Sliding the fouled diaper off to the side, Caramel snagged a wipe in his free hoof and began to clean her bottom, tossing the dirtied wipes into the used diaper to be disposed together when he finished. "Ugh, gross! I got some on me! Nurse Soft Touch made this look so easy." Cinnamon's wails diminished as he worked, until she finally fell silent, when she discovered her hoof to suck on.

Once she was clean enough, he lowered her back down and began to check and clean her more delicate spots. This was the part he had the most trouble with. Lifting a fresh wipe, he pulled her fillybit apart and ran the wipe though her slit. Nurse Soft Touch had told him to be mindful in cleaning this area, she could develop a rash or an infection if he failed to keep it clean.

Heaving a sigh when he finished that step, Caramel took the foal powder in his teeth and attempted to apply it, but only managed to envelop everything in a cloud of white powder. "That was way too much, don't you think?" Caramel asked the filly as he waved his hoof trying to disperse the cloud. Cinnamon crinkled her nose and let out a sneeze, followed by another.

Next, Caramel positioned a new diaper under her and began to secure it into place. Once done, he turned to the old diaper and folded it upon itself and rolled it into a ball, trapping all the evil badness inside, before tossing it into the trash.

"You know, that wasn't so bad. I don't know why I was so worried about changing diapers." Caramel said out loud to a much happier Cinnamon before bending down and giving her a kiss. Lifting her up, he cradled her with his leg. Leaving the nursery, Caramel heading for the bathroom, as he needed to wash his hooves very badly now.

Laying out on the couch, Caramel made sure that Cinnamon was securely nestled between his two front legs. While lying comfortably on her back, Cinnamon's lavender eyes curiously watched him as he leaned over her to open the foal care book he had propped up behind her. "Would you like me to read you a story?" Caramel asked Cinnamon as he flipped the pages to the first chapter. Slowly and with exaggerated emphasis with his words, Caramel began to read out loud to her.

Before he finished the first chapter, Caramel glanced down and saw that the little filly had snuggled herself up against his leg and was sound asleep. Pausing for a time, Caramel sat and just watched her as she slept. Listening to her soft snuffling breath, as she drooled against his leg.

Caramel thought about the changes he was going to need to do now. His apartment that he shared with Noteworthy was not suitable for raising a foal in, and Caramel knew that he needed to find a better place. Lilly and Chisel would of course be happy to help him out, they had been urging him to take on a bigger role in operating the Farmer's Bounty Supply Store. Since Caramel and Fudge were the closest the two had to having children their own, breaking the news about Fudge was going to be hard on them, especially to Lilly.

"They are going to love you." Caramel murmured to the sleeping filly. Yawning, Caramel settled his head down next to Cinnamon, and closed his eyes to rest. It had been a long day, and having not slept in nearly two days, Caramel felt himself drifting off quickly.

Cinnamon's distressed cry suddenly woke him. Lifting his head up, he glanced at the clock that was on the wall. Just a little over an hour since he had laid his head down. "I suppose your saying that you're hungry." Caramel surmised. Tucking some pillows around Cinnamon, to keep her from rolling off the couch. Caramel drowsily stumbled to the kitchen. He stared at the row of bottles he had sitting on the counter, as he tried to remember how to prepare one. Meanwhile, the sounds of Cinnamon's complaints were growing behind him. Caramel then remembered the note that nurse Soft Touch had written down all the steps he needed on.

Caramel rummaged through the bags until he cried out with success as he pulled out a slip of paper in his teeth. "Thank you nurse." Setting it down he began reading nurse Soft Touch's five easy steps to making the perfect bottle for beginners. Working quickly, Caramel prepared Cinnamon's bottle, before trotted out of the kitchen with the freshly made bottle griped in his mouth. Laying out on the couch with Cinnamon nestled between his front legs, Caramel maneuvered the bottle around and gingerly prodded her mouth until she took it in, and began to suckle hungrily.

Once she was done, and was happy at having a full belly again, Caramel set the empty bottle aside and lifted her up onto his shoulder. With gentle care, he began to pat her back. "Work it out, not force it out." He reminded himself, as nurse Soft Touch's words came back to him. After patting her for a short time, he was rewarded with a wet sounding burp, and a wetness on his shoulder, and partway down his back. Too late, he remembered that he should have use a burping towel when he burped her. Sighing, Caramel lowered Cinnamon down to his lap, and shook his head, feeling the warm spit up soak into his coat.

After visiting the bathroom to wash, Caramel sat back down on the couch with a sigh. Cradling Cinnamon, Caramel slowly rocked his body, trying to lure the filly back to sleep. At first it seemed to be working as her eyes started to droop down, but then she started to squirm against him as she started to cry. Checking her diaper, Caramel found it to be unsoiled. Going to the diaper bag, he rummaged around until he found a pacifier. Lifting it out with his lips, he turned and poked it into the filly's mouth.

Cinnamon quieted down as she suckled the pacifier. Sitting himself back down, Caramel worriedly watched as Cinnamon continued to squirm, and shift, before she spat out her pacifier to start crying again. "What's wrong?" Caramel asked her as he attempted to put the pacifier back into her mouth, but she kept refusing it and spitting it back out.

Something was wrong, but what? He didn't know what to do. Caramel was starting to panic, as nothing he tried seemed to help. Flipping quickly through the foal book, Caramel hurriedly scanned for any hint for what he should do, when quite suddenly, Cinnamon kicked out her legs and let out a loud blast, as she farted.

Gas!? Is that what she had? Flipping back a few pages, he read about what to do about gas. Following the directions, he set Cinnamon down onto her back. Pressing his hooves against the top of her belly, he began to gently rub in little circles, slowly working his way down. One fart, followed by another ensued as he worked out the gas bubbles. Reaching her pelvis, Caramel shifted back up and started again. As he kneaded his way back down, he worked out a few more little farts, before he became aware that Cinnamon had stopped crying at some point during his ministrations.

Pausing Caramel looked up, and saw that she was peacefully asleep. Sitting back, Caramel let out a relieved sigh. Taking the moment of reprieve, Caramel hurried into the kitchen to make something for him to eat. Once he finished eating his meal, Caramel sat back down, and watched Cinnamon sleep, her little chest rising and falling with each of her breaths, as he listened to her soft snore.

Tomorrow he had some unpleasant things to settle. He needed to decide as to what will happen to his sister's body. Be it burial or cremation. He would also need to visit the apartment manger and talk to him about Fudge's apartment. He would also need to start packing her stuff, and arrange things with a moving company. So many things to deal with.

Letting out a tired sigh, Caramel gently scooped up Cinnamon and headed for the bedroom. When he entered his sister's bedroom he saw her bed neatly made, with a bassinet set out next to it. Crossing over to the bassinet Caramel gently set Cinnamon down into it. She let out a whimper and kicked out her hooves for a moment, complaining that her sleep was being disturbed before she settled down, and drifted back into her slumber.

Pulling back the sheets, Caramel slid into bed. As he set his head down on the pillow, he found the pillow still carried his sister's scent. It caught him by surprise. Breathing in his sister's scent, memories started to come back. Closing his eyes, it felt like she was there, right next to him. He could picture it so easily, Fudge laying next to him in bed, just like when they were younger. Being younger and smaller, Caramel would often cuddle up with Fudge on those cold nights, reveling in the feeling of her hooves as she held him through the cold nights. Opening his eye, Caramel looked at the empty spot next to him. She was gone.

His emotions quickly overwhelmed him as he was no longer able to hold back his grief. Reaching out he clutched a pillow to himself as he let his tears flow.

Author's Notes:

Yes, I know it's sappy. Sue me.
Comments are welcome.