The GaskinGirls had earned some screen time. Having watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! a billion times, I suggested looking for something new. Something just as imaginative, but with a tad more realism, perhaps? As I perused Science & Nature Documentaries, Penny shouted, "I want to watch that space one!!!!" I loaded up the first episode of the acclaimed miniseries, Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.
The girls were enthralled by sights, sounds, theories, and of course, Mr. Hawking's computer-generated voice. They asked so many great questions. They were sad to discover there were only three episodes. The next day, they invited their 6-year-old neighbor to come over and re-watch an episode with them. They filled her in on motor neurone disease, aliens, red-shift, and time travel.
Later, while the girls were playing, I heard a shout:
"Open the barn doors! *ppphhhssshhhh* Now there are TWO Raritys!!!!"
And a reply, in a robot-like voice:
"I worked-ed it! It's MY Time Machine!"
I had to know what they were up to. Not one to shy away from basking in the hilarity of kids' pursuits, I peeked in on the scene. It was something like this
(I had them recreate it for me, for posterity):
Yes, that's an old Fisher-Price barn (the same one my sister knocked my brother over the head with when she was a baby, in fact). It is now a Time Machine. Yes, the Gaskins somehow acquired two sets of My Little Ponies, which are now serving as Future and Past versions of each other. Yes, that is Harry Potter in a wheelchair, now playing the role of theoretical physicist, Dr. Stephen William Hawking.
Yes, Strong Bad is pushing his wheelchair. I don't know what's going on with Strong Sad in the cape.
For your reference, should you, for some creepy reason, wish to recreate this scene:
Vintage Fisher-Price Barn
Homestarruner Figurines Set#1
Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! Season 1
MLP Royal Ball at Canterlot Castle Playset
wheelchair from: Calico Critters: Nurse playset
Harry Potter from: HP Knight Bus Carrier
