Ever since Flurry Heart had her triplets, Shining Star became a devoted uncle figure to them. Just as Flurry was to him, he strived to be a mentor and confidant, helping to rear them into intelligent young mares. It was the vow he made when they were born.
 
But actually taking care of them was much harder.
 
These fillies were uninterested in any sort of intelligent discussion; it was all Shining Star could do to keep them from practically demolishing the crystal palace. Babysitting three young foals was way more than he had bargained for, but even with his girlfriend Cream Jade by his side, he was determined to do it all himself.
 
“You clean that up!” He scolded Agape Sherbet, pointing at a puddle of spilled juice.
 
“No!” The filly protested.
 
“You made this mess, you will pick up after yourself!” He commanded, groaning in exasperation as the filly ran off to keep causing havoc.
 
Cream Jade sighed quietly, rolling her eyes. She loved Shining Star, she really did, but the stallion could be so stubborn sometimes. She honestly feels like she is taking care of four fillies right now.
 
“They’re kids, Shiny! You have to be nice. Remember, if there is a sweet reward at the end of it, the three will absolutely do it. Just watch.” She grinned at the stallion, before she made her way to the triplets. Crouching down to be on eye level with them, she smiled. Her smile was bright and kind like it always is.
 
“Alright, so how about this~~” she started, her voice sweet and gentle. “-If you guys clean up the mess, you can have ice cream right after!”
 
Agape Sherbet raised an eyebrow, watching the older mare before replying. “Why? We could have it now.” The filly grinned the moment Cream looked away from the three, shooting a small glare at Shining before he could say anything.
 
“Clearly your rewards system is SO effective,” Shining rolled his eyes sarcastically, growing more irritable by the minute. “Have you got any other great ideas? Fondant, get down from there!” He was immediately distracted by the pegasus filly perched dangerously on top of a shelf, trying to pull her down with his magic until she started to wail.
 
“Be more gentle with her! And stop screaming, that’s not going to help!” She said, quickly rushing to his side. Worry glazed her features as she watched the small filly.
 
She opened her hooves, standing on her hind legs. “Fondant, sweetheart, can you come down here? Me and uncle Shiny will catch you, I promise!” She spoke softly, definitely calmer than she actually felt. Internally she was, pretty much, freaking out because FONDANT WAS ON TOP OF THE SHELF, OH CELESTIA~~
 
Frustrated by the filly’s defiance and Cream’s lack of firm discipline, Shining Star retreated to the other room where he could think more clearly.
 
Cream followed him in, a frown of concern on her face. “Shiny, come back! I know it’s hard, but you can’t avoid them like this.”
 
“We have tried EVERYTHING. Rewards systems. Discipline. Asking nicely. Everything under Celestia’s sun! And we still can’t get them to bed.” Shining vented in frustration. “Пиздец, Flurry will be so disappointed in me—er, us.”
 
“Well, what does Flurry do?” Cream asked. “She’s their mom, she probably has to do this every day.”
 
“Hmm…” Shining pondered. “She always plays a game with them. Sometimes it’s a race to see who can pick up their mess the fastest. Or a contest to see who can get to bed before the bugbear catches them or something. She plays a variety of them, really.”
 
Cream grinned. “We could work with that! It’ll be fun!”
 

 
“Time for a game, everyone!”
 
The three fillies were finally paying attention to the two teenagers, the prospect of a game piquing their interest more than their previous chaos.
 
“This is going to be a race,” Shining explained. “Pick up all your toys and then get ready for bed, and the first one to get into bed is the winner.”
 
“And you better do it quickly before the big bad bugbear comes to get you!” Cream growled playfully, ruffling their manes
 
“Oh no!” The foals laughed. “Okay, auntie Creamy!”
 
They jumped up and got right to work, picking up all the toys and snacks they had strewn around the room. All the while, Cream acted out the character of the bugbear while Shining kept track of the time and helped them clean up. It was a miracle how much this was working; just minutes ago, they were hardly cooperating at all, and now they were having fun AND being organized.
 
“Run on up to bed before the bugbear gets you!” Cream called after them as they raced to their bedroom, finally getting a moment of quiet with Shining.
 
“Th…that went so seamlessly!” Shining gaped, still processing what had happened. “How did you do it?”
 
“That wasn’t me,” Cream pointed out. “That was us. You‘re right, my rewards system wasn’t working. But neither was your discipline. There’s fun and discipline in a game, so that’s why it worked so well.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for the idea, Shiny.”
 
“That was all Flurry,” he countered.
 
“Hush, you, give yourself some credit,” she chuckled. “Wanna go read to them?”
 
“Would I ever! I have a whole list for them.”
 
“NOT Hoofspeare! They’re kids!” Cream warned.
 
“Пиздец,” Shining rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Maybe when they’re older, then.”