The night was like most other nights. Creatures all across the land were sleeping peacefully. A gentle breeze carried the scents and smells of the world to bear. Gentle moonlight illuminated the forest, casting a glow day creatures would consider calming. The only abnormality was the sound. Near the edge of the forest, keening wails broke the silence.
The perpetrators could hardly be blamed. They were only following their instinct, as any young creature would. The newborns and infants of most species had very little means to defend themselves. They were predominantly too small and too weak to fight off a wandering predator, but did have two methods of survival programmed in. One was to hide, and the other was to call for help.
Calling for help could be a risky move. Not only would parents and other adults be attracted to the cries, meat-eaters and scavengers would as well. A baby’s cries for help could just as easily bring a hungry wolf. However, babies, or in this case, fillies, would have no chance of surviving on their own. So they called for someone to come and find them. It was a gamble they must take if they wished to live.
Six small fillies were wailing as loud as their little voices could manage. They had gone to sleep wrapped warmly in their dams' embrace, confident in the safety their parents provided. Yet when a distant thunderclap woke the fillies, their dams were nowhere to be found. Prodding muzzles and worried grunts brought no tender tongue to lick away their fears. As the restless little fillies had attempted to find their mothers, a little orange filly had tumbled out of sight. Her startled cries had been more than enough to set the entire group wailing.
The designs of Nature were tried and true; only minutes after the fillies began crying, the undergrowth below crunched under the weight of a large creature. The fillies immediately fell silent. This was not a sound of their herd, it was unknown. Unknown things were to be feared. The fillies could not possibly know which sounds of the forest signaled danger and which meant safety, but they didn't have to. The environment and creatures at birth were safety, everything else was danger. Whatever creature had come, it wasn't a pony. And so the fillies hid, the last defense of the young.
Five of the fillies were nuzzling around and underneath each other, vying to get as far away from the strange noises as possible. There were almost inaudible squeaks in the air as they stepped on each other’s tails and bellies, but fear kept them quiet. The orange filly who had fallen earlier was pressing herself against a cold wall of something, trying to find her own little spot of safety. She had no warm bodies or fuzzy manes to reassure her she wasn't alone, and was nearly paralyzed with fear. Together, they waited.
The large creature stomping through the brush was fairly annoyed. It had been drifting off to a long-awaited sleep when it had been awoken by the terrified cries. Had its consciousness had its way, the creature would have ignored the cries and went to sleep. But again, Nature was clever. The cries of frightened young would grate on the brain of an adult, insisting that it find the source of the cries. So, against its will, the bipedal primate went off into the woods to find whatever was annoying it so.
No sooner had the massive ape-like creature set foot in the forest, the cries fell silent. The screeching noise no longer grated against its brain, and the subconscious began to forget the whole affair. This was also designed, so that lost young ones would have a chance at evading predators. However, the creature kept looking, annoyance replaced by concern. Those cries sounded like a baby’s cries, and the forest was no place for a baby to be on its own. Though the forest had fallen silent, the human continued his search for the source of the cries.
The fillies were as quiet as the grave, but it wasn't working. The stomping just kept getting louder and louder. Also, the strange noises of a mysterious creature were being carried to their ears. Whatever was coming couldn't be good. Now, if hiding failed to conceal them, most young creatures would attempt to flee a potential predator. This was a last resort, as the noise and movement would invariably attract the hunter’s attention. The fillies were not yet ready to run, but the terror in their hearts was becoming unbearable. Then, all at once, they were blinded.
The large human male had at last remembered his flashlight. Humans have developed innumerable tools to aid them in the struggle of life, with the flashlight being one of the most useful tools for nightly activity. They allowed the non-nocturnal primates to function properly at night. When the human turned it on, the nearly blinding light cut through the darkness and fell on the object of his search. A basket of fillies.
The human was immediately captivated by the tiny, struggling ponies. One part of Nature’s design was that large heads and small bodies are appealing to adult mammals. This insured that parents would look after their children. Normally, this attraction carried little weight between species, but humans were an empathetic race. The male couldn’t help but associate the helpless fillies with its own kind of young. Ancient instincts began kicking in, and the human bent down to examine the fillies more closely, causing absolute pandemonium in the basket below.
The fillies were disorientated by the blinding light that seemed to have consumed the world. They could only lie there and flail blindly as their retinas readjusted to this sudden change. When their little eyes opened again, a scene of horror was waiting. A huge monster was towering directly overhead, with foreign scents filling their nostrils. This was the ultimate unknown terror, one that no child could bear to face alone. The fillies squealed in fear and desperately tried to run for their lives. None succeeded.
When the human bent low to look over the fillies, they screamed in terror and began clambering all around the basket in a desperate attempt to get away. The whole thing was reminiscent of several fish slashing around in a bucket. The human was so interested in the chaos in the basket that he almost didn't notice the orange filly. She was running away as fast as her uncertain little legs could carry her. Without a moment’s pause, he reached down to scoop her up.
The orange filly had a decent chance of making it away, which would have led to her inevitable doom. Though she was unused to running, she had managed to get all four hooves below her and begun a steady gallop into the night. She would have made it, had a giant hand not slid under her belly and lifted her into the air. She thrashed and squealed, only moments away from cruel teeth savagely ripping her apart. Or so she thought.
The orange filly was deposited back into the mass of panicked ponies she had fallen away from earlier. Immediately the blue filly slipped out from beneath, causing her to land on her rump. For a moment, she joined the others in a blind panic. Then something strange happened. A wall of fabric closed the top of the basket, sealing away all the light and warming the fillies slightly. The darkness meant they were hidden, and being hidden meant they were safe. Slowly, the fillies began to calm down.
As they got used to their new environment, a strange sound began dancing through the air. It did not mean anything in particular to the fillies, but that wasn't the point. The sounds carried a tenderness and warmth that reminded the fillies of their missing dams. Though their fears were not totally assuaged, they began to relax. Wherever they were, they were safe. As the adrenaline of the past few minutes faded away, the eyes of the little ponies began to droop. It had been quite an exhausting night. Before long, gentle snores could be heard in the breeze. The fillies had been found safely.
The human smiled as the snores began to emanate from the basket. He knew that most animals were much less likely to hurt themselves if their cage was covered. Once the squirming had died down a bit, he had begun to hum a lullaby he loved as a child. It had worked like a charm. Now that the fillies were more or less in his arms, they were under his protection. He could ponder later why there was a basket of fillies in the woods. For now, he had to get them home. As he walked away, a small part of his mind decided the fillies were too adorable to go nameless. It began to drift, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack…
Nature had done her job.
Author's Note
Well, it's been a while. I never did get together that often with my writing partner, and the whole thing has just fallen apart. I feel this story stands well enough on it's own, so I'm canceling any future updates. However, if you wish to use this story as a springboard for one of your own, just message me. We'll work something out. Thanks for staying with me so long guys. I wish I could've given you more.
