“Let’s talk about what happened.”

Once they finally got some time alone from the kids, Dusk Star, Gilded Prose, and their fathers gathered for an important family meeting. The bonding time they had spent months preparing for was not going well. The kids were hardly having fun at all. It was all Dusk could do to keep them content enough to not have a completely terrible time. There was a problem that needed to be addressed, and now was the time to address it.

Dusk looked across the table at his brother. “Gilded, I love you and I apologize for my frankness, but it seems my family is having a hard time getting along with you.”

Gilded simply nodded. “I can tell.”

“I’m not saying you are a bad uncle, of course, but…you insulted the art project Moonbow worked so hard on for you. She told me yesterday she wanted to throw it away because she thought you hated it.”

“I do not hate it,” Gilded defended himself. “She asked what I thought, so I gave her my honest opinion like she wanted. She has potential, but it could use work.”

Dusk couldn’t help but grow a bit frustrated. “Gilded, she’s eight. She is not a professional looking for criticism. All you needed to say was that you liked it and it would have made her happy.”

“Gilded can be a bit blunt at times,” Silver Script interjected.

“But he does mean well. Right son?” Star Bright added.

“Of course I do,” Gilded affirmed. “For instance, when I told your husband that drinking an excess of soda was a sure cause of obesity, I was simply looking out for his health.”

“But from your tone and wording, he thinks you called him fat,” Dusk pointed out. “You need not be so blunt. To this extent, you’re just hurting others’ feelings.”

“Do you not think I know that?” Gilded grumbled. “It doesn’t look like it, but I AM trying. I don’t do well with ponies. And I especially don’t do well with foals. I don’t even know how to hold a baby correctly. You may be a stellar communicator, but I am not.”

“But you are an amazing reader and writer,” Star Bright countered. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You do have a way with words in the right setting.”

Silver Script lit up with an idea. “Dusk, son, don’t the little ones love being read to?”

“Of course.”

The pegasus grinned. “I know the perfect way for them to bond.”