The mother ursa major looked down lovingly at her eight cubs. The cubs were only the size of a puppy, which was tiny compared to their mother, who towered over them, as tall as a five story house. Seven cubs fought to reach their mother, trying to get a place to feed on its mother’s milk. They nipped on each others ears, using all their might to force their way past.
The last cub stumbled after the others eagerly, but being the slowest in the litter, there was no space for the little cup to feed. He was smaller than its other brothers and sisters, and was often left out. He wanted to please its mother, to show her that he could be as good as the rest. However, being a runt, his mother never really payed attention for him. She would just look lovingly at the rest, her eyes brushing past him as if he was invisible.
“Rar!” The little cub cried as he tried to squeeze past his siblings for a drink. His 5th brother gave him glare, and bumped him to the left. The others followed his lead, pushing and shoving him until the poor cub was far away from his mother’s teat, outside the hungry crowd of siblings. The cub could only watch sadly and give a small whine, his stomach growling, hoping there will be some milk left for him.
After the cub’s siblings’ stomachs have been filled, they slowed parted away and went off to play tag with each other. The small cub ran eagerly over to his mother as the last cub had finished his meal. To his surprise, the Ursa major mother stood up, making it impossible for the cub to even have a sip of milk. Being only a small fraction of his mother’s height, the cub was helpless. He gave a small squeak, indicating his hunger, however, his efforts were fruitless.
Ignoring the runt, the mother ursa went to hush the rest of the cubs, nudging them beside her to go to sleep. The cubs slowly began to grow weary and cuddled up next to their mother, leaning on her as if she was a nice soft pillow. The littlest went up to its mother and gave a whine, begging her for his dinner. However, the mother just rolled over, back facing the cub, oblivious to the whining.
The puny cub tried to sneak a drink, creeping up to its mother’s belly, and tried sucking on her nipple. Not only did it not have any milk, it caused the mother to be agitated. Visibly annoyed, the mother gave the little one a menacing growl, its large fangs capable of ripping flesh in one bite showing before going back to sleep. The cub was silenced, his terror of the fangs cutting through his throat far higher than his hunger.
His stomach could not stop bother the cub, and he could not sleep a wink. Giving up, the cub sniffed the air attentively, trying to locate a nearby food source. At first, he could smell nothing. But soon enough, he manage to trace a sweet scent in the air, and he obeyed his raging stomach and ran in the direction of the smell.
The blueberry bush was not that far away, a few metres deeper into the forest from the clearing where the mother ursa and most of her cubs lay, in a deep slumber. Even from the bush, the low rumbling of the Ursa Major and her cubs’ snores could be clearing. The cub’s face lit up as it spotted the plum ripe berries. After experimentally sniffing them to see if they were poisonous, he gobbled them down in less than a minute.
After polishing of the one side of the bush, the cub licked its lips, savouring the sweet taste of berry juice remaining around its mouth, before craving for more. It began to paw and dig at the the bush, trying to reach the berries left deeper in the bush.
As the bear wiggled, trying to take a bite of the remaining berries. The thorns in the bush caught and latched onto the bear like a hook. The sharp thorns dug into the cubs fur, but the cub was so famished that the pain seemed to be numbed, and he carried on digging. All he could focus on was the berry a few centimetres away. By the time the cub managed to take a bite of the nearest berry, his body was covered in cuts.
Realizing that he would be badly cut if he persisted and dug deeper, the cub reluctantly decided to retreat. However, no matter how much he squirmed, the thorns just jabbed deeper into his flesh, stubbornly refusing to let go. The cub let out a panicked cry in pain as he realized he was stuck. Fear coursed through him as his cuts began to throb. Struggling even more, the thorns had no mercy and pieced in deeper, causing blood to seep from the cub’s cuts.
Giving out a high pitched whine, he tried to call to his mother but to no avail. Weak, exhausted and in pain, the cub gave up. Slowly, as the evening came closer, the cub gave in to his fatigue, his eyes fluttering shut and he fell into a deep and restless slumber.
When the harsh night came, the cub woke up to the sound of a long shrill howl, that sent shivers down his spine. The dreaded smell of rotten meat filled his nostrils, and a surge of alarm ran through his veins.Trembling, he peeked out of the bush and saw two glowing green eyes staring intimidatingly back at him. He felt every muscle in his body freeze as the lurking creature lunged forward, mouth wide open, sharp claws extended for its attack.
“The day seems to be coming to an end, it is time to say goodbye my friend,” The zebra looked out of the window of her small hut, where the sun was starting to set over the horizon, and darkness began to loom over the Everfree forest.
“Thanks Zecora. I really needed these remedies for my animals.” The shy Pegasus’ voice was filled with sincere gratitude. She gingerly picked up the bag of mixed herbs and placed in in her saddle bag.
“I eager to help everypony, yes that is true. I hope this is good enough to cure your animals’ flu.” Zecora nodded, as a smile creeped onto her lips. She placed a rolled up piece of paper into Fluttershy’s bag. “ Follow this list, and nothing will go wrong. In a day or two, the poor bunnies won’t be ill for long.”
Fluttershy thanked the herbalist once again, and said her goodbye. However, once she stepped out of the hut, she felt fear grip her. The sun had already set, and the forest looked as spooky as ever. The wind howled, making the leaves on the trees rustle, and Fluttershy could not differentiate whether the sound was caused by a wind, or a dangerous animal lurking nearby.
Maybe I can fly over the forest back home. She thought. Flapping her wings, she hovered up over the forest, looking down the thick canopy of trees below her.
“Oh my......”
Confusion struck her. The sky was dark, and the only source of light she had was the weak light reflected by Luna’s moon, which had begun to rise. All she could see was a faint glimpse of the area ahead of her, while the rest were darkness. She could not tell north from south, or east to west. She had completely lost her bearings.