//------------------------------// // Herd mentality // Story: It takes a village // by Sarcastic Brony //------------------------------// Twilight was true to her word. She had Spike quickly gather all of the other girls to talk about what was happening. Anon has to admit that he wasn’t surprised that most of them were shocked, but Anon will admit that he didn’t expect that Rarity and Applejack would be so… motherly. As soon as the shock died down, the both of them were sitting in front of the baby basket talking to the girl. “Oh, aren’t you a little cutie!” Rarity gives a little squee. The child reaches out towards Rarity with her little hands. “Well, I think she likes you,” Applejack says. “Well of course she would, Darling. We simply must get her some proper clothes!” “Rarity. I can’t ask that of you.” Anon tries to stop her, but it was too late for that. “Think nothing of it! There’s no way I can leave such a precious child without proper clothing. I assume because she’s part human she’ll need clothes?” Anon doesn’t know how it ended up like this, but he’s thankful that everything is going so well. “I think so?” Anon says unsure. “I honestly have no idea. I guess her human part definitely will need it. Not too sure about the pony part.” Rarity nods in thought as she mumbles to herself. Applejack pulls the basket in front of her. “Well, hey there.” The baby reaches up and grasps the tip of her hat. “You like my hat?” Applejack takes off her hat and places it on the chest of the baby. Pinkie starts giggle as the baby puts the tip of it in her mouth. Applejack doesn’t mind as she chuckles as well. “She reminds me of Apple Bloom when she was a foal,” Applejack says with a voice filled with love. “Have you thought of a name for her?” Rainbow Dash asks. Anon is caught off guard. He just got her yesterday. He never really ever thought of what he would name her. “Um...” “How about ‘Faith?’” Twilight offers, seeing as she noticed Anon’s struggle. Anon thinks it over. Was there really anything better than that? He was never really good with names, so he might as well use that one. “Uh, yeah... That’s a good name, actually.” “Do you have any idea where she came from?” Rainbow asks. Anon scratches the back of his head. “I have a thought.” “So who’s the pony?” There’s an odd tone to Rainbow’s voice. Is she angry? “I don’t think it really matters,” Anon says trying to defuse the situation. “Anon’s right. If the pony in question left Faith, then she probably doesn’t want anything to do with her,” Twilight comes in. For some reason, that hits Anon a bit hard. Not for his sake, but for the kid. There will be a time in her life when she’ll ask him about her mother. How can he tell this girl that her mother left her in front of his door? Anon feels something rest on his shoulder. He looks over to see Fluttershy there. Out of all of them, he thought she would’ve been the one to be the most excited for the baby, but for the most part she was rather reserved. “It’s alright, Anon. I’m sure you’ll take care of her well.” Anon rubs his face some. Yeah, he can do this. He’ll cross that bridge when it comes. He has many years before she grows old enough to ask stuff like that. “Where do I start?” Anon asks in hopes for help. “Well ya probably need a bassinet for her to sleep in. She is pretty big though, so maybe a crib would work better,” Applejack says. “Diapers will also be a problem. I still remember how many Apple Bloom went through.” “As I said before, I can provide clothes,” Rarity adds. “She’ll probably need blankets as well. That’s something I can also help with.” “I can help with her nutrition,” Fluttershy comes in. “Because of her... unique type... She’ll probably need a balance between what you eat and what ponies eat.” Anon tries to digest everything that’s being said. They’re right. This won’t just be a simple walk in the park. He’ll need to buy a lot of the things he’ll need to take care of her. The first problem is money. He has a decent job working for Pinkie, but that only gets him enough to get by. He’ll need to get another job to give this kid everything she’ll need. He lets out a long sigh as he decides to take his first step. Anon looks up at Applejack with a sad smile. “Is that job opening still available?” he asks her. She beams at him. “It sure is, sugarcube.” He nods. “At least that’ll help...” “You know, Anon. If you really need money, I’m sure I can giv-” “Twilight,” Anon cuts her off. “I thank you and everyone for the help you’re giving, but I don’t want to put you into that situation. I’m fine with working two jobs.” Twilight can see that stubborn look in his eyes. The same look he always has when he thinks he’s right. She knows she’ll never win this battle. “Alright. If you’re ever in a financial problem, promise you’ll come to me.” “...Sure.” The silence is broken as a loud cry fills the air. All the mares quickly crowd around the basket, almost as if their instincts kicked in to see what was wrong. “Ya think she’s hungry?” Applejack asks the others. “When’s the last time she ate?” Rainbow asks. “I don’t know,” Anon speaks up. “Let me see,” Fluttershy says. The girls part for Fluttershy to get a closer look. She gently rests an ear against the child stomach. She closes her eyes for a few seconds before she gives a small nod. “She’s definitely hungry.” “What do we feed her?” Anon asks in concern. “Well, she’s too young for solids. She needs milk from her mother,” Fluttershy says. Twilight decides to speak up. “We don’t really have that option, Fluttershy. What are alternatives?” “Well, we could try nursing her.” “What?” Anon asks. “How does that even work?” “Mares can produce milk in emergencies. It comes from when we used to have herds. If a mare that was giving milk was lost, then another would have to take her place” Twilight replies automatically. “Wait, so you’re saying that any one of you can feed her?” Anon asks dumbfounded. “In theory.” “Won’t this kinda be weird?” Anon asks. “What’s weird about it?” Pinkie asks. “Um... She’s not your kid?” All the girls look at Anon like he’s the weird one. Just another thing it seems that makes him different from these ponies. “It’s a foal that needs help. Why wouldn’t we help?” Rarity asks. Anon scratches the back of his head. “I guess...” Applejack raises her hoof. “I can do it, if that’s alright with y’all.” The other girls nod in unison, but then Applejack looks at Anon. “Is that alright, Anon?” “I guess.” Anon doesn’t really have anything else he can say. Applejack picks up the child from her basket and lies down on her side like a dog. She then places the child by her belly and slightly lifts her leg up. Anon isn’t sure if he should be here right now. Everything about this situations seems so odd, but he holds his tongue. Applejack jerks some. “Whoo boy! Well, this little filly sure is hungry,” Applejack says in a joking manner. “Are you producing?” Twilight asks. Applejack nods. “Yeah, this isn’t the first time I’ve done this. We couldn’t well let Granny Smith nurse Applebloom.” She looks over at Anon and notices how he looks away from her. “Come on now, sugarcube. Ain’t nothing wrong here.” This feels wrong on so many levels for Anon. He can’t imagine what a human would think if they saw another woman breast feeding some persons kid. Everything about this is telling him that he should stop this, but, as he looks at the girls, he just notices that most of them are looking at the child with wonder in their eyes. Even Rainbow Dash is sneaking peeks, while trying to also hold up a nonchalant front. Anon moves a bit closer and looks down at the child. It’s really odd to be this close to her while she’s doing this, but Anon also feels a warmth inside of him. This child doesn’t really seem to care, nor do his friends. So why should he? Anon notices Applejack’s hat is still near the basket, so he picks it up and sets it onto AJ’s head. “Thanks for doing this,” he says grateful. She smiles at him. “Ain’t nothing. I’ll be honest with you, I’ve kinda missed doing this for my little sis.” She rests a hoof onto Anon’s hand. “I know it’s scary, but I’m sure you’ll do a mighty fine job raising her.” Anon actually feels a bit of hope inside of him at hearing those words. Applejack is right. He can do this and with his friends’ help. He doesn’t need to do it alone.