The sun beat down on the crinkled yellow grass on a Thursday afternoon, no cooler than it was six hours ago. Thankfully, inside the hospital, where a certain brightly colored mare lied on her soft bed sheets, it was shielded from Celestia’s scorching sun. Each minute was another pain searing spasm for the light pink mare, her body heaving and lungs gasping and panting for breath as the seconds ticked by. At precisely 2:17 PM her shaking stopped, the neverending agony ceased.She slumped down, eyes closed, and thought of the little filly that she had just given birth to. After eleven months of ice cream, comforting words, and patience, she had finally been awarded with a foal
The mare only had to wait a few more minutes until her foal was to be delivered to her by one of the hospital nurses. She had waited almost a year, what was a three more measly minutes? Sitting on her ruffled sheets, she hunched over to smoothen them, until suddenly the ward door quietly creaked open and she stood erect, hoping to see her newborn foal. A nurse with a pure white body gently carried in the foal, which was wrapped in a soft pink blanket. The mare nodded her head to the nurse, whom hurried away, frightened. She tilted her head, wondering what in Equestria was going on, and tenderly unwrapped the blanket.
She stared in shock, her eyes wide with concern and fear. Her foal was gray. The coat, mane, everything was gray! This was not the perfect child she had wished for. It looked nothing like her or her husband, who had died three months earlier. This must’ve been a monster, a creature of Discord himself. She almost jumped out of the bed when the foal opened her eyes; her clear, beautiful, wide, bright eyes. They shined dull blue, like the ocean’s powerful waves during a cloudy day. Not blinking, the glowing blue orbs gazed back at her thoughtfully.
She looked at the foal’s smile. Its innocent, playful smile. Monster or not, this was a baby. Her baby. And she would take care of her.
“I think I’m going to call you Ripple,” the new mother murmured. “That should do just fine.” She embraced her foal, crying tears of joy. And so, Ripple’s life began.
